Rich-defect carbon nanotubes for highly sensitive detection of Dopamine

Dopamine (DA) plays an essential role in the central nervous, renal, hormonal and cardiovascular systems. Various modified carbon nanotubes (CNT)-based dopamine sensors have been reported, but inexpensive, highly sensitive plain CNT-based ones are seldom studied. In this work, a facile and inexpensive CNT-based DA sensor is made by rich-defect multi-walled carbon nanotubes (RD-CNT) via an ultrasound method. The defect and elemental states of the RD-CNT are systematically studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray-photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results show that massive holes and cracks exist in RD-CNT. The level of defects increases from the additional exposed edges. The electrochemical characterizations indicate that the electrochemical sensor has the highest sensitivity of 438.4 μA/(μM ⋅ cm²) among all carbon materials-based DA sensors while well meeting the clinically required detection range and selectivity. The DA sensor was further used to detect live healthy human serum and live PC12 cells with satisfactory results, thus holding great promise for an inexpensive but sensitive DA sensor in practical applications of clinical diagnosis and biological research.     

Fluorous Tagged Peptides for Intracellular Delivery and Biomedical Imaging

Fluorous tagged peptides have shown promising features for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and multimodal imaging. The bioconjugation of fluoroalkyl ligands onto cargo peptides greatly enhances their proteolytic stability and membrane penetration via a proposed “fluorine effect”. The tagged peptides also efficiently deliver other biomolecules such as DNA and siRNA into cells via a co-assembly strategy. The fluoroalkyl chains on peptides with antifouling properties enable efficient gene delivery in the presence of serum proteins. Besides intracellular biomolecule delivery, the amphiphilic peptides can be used to stabilized perfluorocarbon-filled microbubbles for ultrasound imaging. The fluorine nucleus on fluoroalkyls provides intrinsic probes for background-free magnetic resonance imaging. Labeling of fluorous tags with radionuclide ¹⁸F also allows tracing the biodistribution of peptides via positron emission tomography imaging. This mini-review will discuss properties and mechanism of the fluorous tagged peptides in these applications.     

超声波辐射下光致变色螺噁嗪类化合物的快速合成

在超声波辐射条件下,以Fischer碱、1-亚硝基-2,7-二羟基萘为原料,无水乙醇为溶剂快速合成了三个螺嗪类光致变色化合物,通过1 H NMR、IR对目标产物的结构进行了表征,讨论了超声辐射时间对合成产率的影响,利用超声波法合成螺噁嗪类光致变色化合物反应速率快、产率有所提高.     

聚焦微波辅助提取-酸性染料分光光度法测定农吉利中总生物碱

采用聚焦微波辅助提取(FMAE)结合溴麝香草酚蓝分光光度法测定农吉利中总生物碱。粒径为0.180 mm的样品,以甲醇为溶剂,料液比为1比25,在微波功率中火条件下提取50min。在pH 7.2的磷酸二氢钾-氢氧化钠缓冲溶液中,提取得到的生物碱与溴麝香草酚蓝酸性染料形成缔合物,用三氯甲烷萃取后,在最大吸收波长417nm处测量其吸光度。总生物碱的质量浓度在0.25~250mg·L-1范围内呈线性,方法的检出限(3S/N)为1.5mg·L-1。应用该方法测定农吉利药材中总生物碱,加标回收率为105%,测定值的相对标准偏差(n=6)小于3.0%。     

Sonochemical Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound

The sonochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with different shapes and size distributions by using high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) operating at 463 kHz is reported. GNP formation proceeds through the reduction of Au³⁺ to Au⁰ by radicals generated by acoustic cavitation. TEM images reveal that GNPs show irregular shapes at 30 W, are primarily icosahedral at 50 W and form a significant amount of nanorods at 70 W. The size of GNPs decreases with increasing acoustic power with a narrower size distribution. Sonochemiluminescence images help in the understanding of the effect of HIFU in controlling the size and shapes of GNPs. The number of radicals that form and the mechanical forces that are generated control the shape and size of the GNPs. UV/Vis spectra and TEM images are used to propose a possible mechanism for the observed effects. The results presented demonstrate, for the first time, that the HIFU system can be used to synthesise size‐ and shape‐controlled metal nanoparticles.     

Weakly nonlinear focused ultrasound in viscoelastic media containing multiple bubbles

To facilitate practical medical applications such as cancer treatment utilizing focused ultrasound and bubbles, a mathematical model that can describe the soft viscoelasticity of human body, the nonlinear propagation of focused ultrasound, and the nonlinear oscillations of multiple bubbles is theoretically derived and numerically solved. The Zener viscoelastic model and Keller–Miksis bubble equation, which have been used for analyses of single or few bubbles in viscoelastic liquid, are used to model the liquid containing multiple bubbles. From the theoretical analysis based on the perturbation expansion with the multiple-scales method, the Khokhlov–Zabolotskaya–Kuznetsov (KZK) equation, which has been used as a mathematical model of weakly nonlinear propagation in single phase liquid, is extended to viscoelastic liquid containing multiple bubbles. The results show that liquid elasticity decreases the magnitudes of the nonlinearity, dissipation, and dispersion of ultrasound and increases the phase velocity of the ultrasound and linear natural frequency of the bubble oscillation. From the numerical calculation of resultant KZK equation, the spatial distribution of the liquid pressure fluctuation for the focused ultrasound is obtained for cases in which the liquid is water or liver tissue. In addition, frequency analysis is carried out using the fast Fourier transform, and the generation of higher harmonic components is compared for water and liver tissue. The elasticity suppresses the generation of higher harmonic components and promotes the remnant of the fundamental frequency components. This indicates that the elasticity of liquid suppresses shock wave formation in practical applications.     

超声内镜联合CT门静脉成像技术对肝硬化GOV程度及疗效的评价

本研究探讨了超声内镜联合CT门静脉成像技术对肝硬化食管胃静脉曲张(GOV)程度及治疗效果的评价价值。选取72例肝硬化GOV患者为研究对象,根据食管静脉曲张套扎术(EVL)治疗效果分为良好组与不良组。结果发现,不良组总横断面表面积、胃左静脉、门静脉、脾静脉、肠系膜上静脉直径及门静脉长度均大于良好组,曲张静脉壁厚度小于良好组(P<0.05);总横断面表面积、胃左静脉、门静脉、脾静脉、肠系膜上静脉直径及门静脉长度与肝功能Child-Pugh分级、静脉曲张程度呈正相关,曲张静脉壁厚度与肝功能Child-Pugh分级、静脉曲张程度呈负相关(P<0.05);总横断面表面积、曲张静脉壁厚度/胃左静脉、门静脉、脾静脉、肠系膜上静脉直径及门静脉长度均为肝硬化GOV患者治疗效果的影响因素(P<0.05);超声内镜、CT门静脉成像参数联合预测肝硬化GOV患者治疗效果的AUC为0.857。可见,超声内镜、CT门静脉成像参数与肝硬化GOV程度、肝功能分级及EVL治疗效果密切相关,可为临床预测EVL治疗效果提供一定参考。     

超声刀在甲状腺手术中保护喉返神经及入喉处甲状腺组织的应用效果观察

目的探讨超声刀在甲状腺手术中对于喉返神经及入喉处甲状腺组织的保护作用。方法选取2016年1月至12月间广东省遂溪县人民医院收治的120例甲状腺疾病的患者,随机分为对照组和观察组,每组60例,对照组采用传统电刀手术,观察组采用超声刀进行手术,比较两种手术方式的效果以及对喉返神经及入喉处甲状腺组织的影响。结果相较于传统电刀手术,采用超声刀可明显缩短腺体切除时间和手术总时间,减少术中出血量,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);两种手术方式在术后引流量和住院时间方面比较,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);观察组患者喉返神经损伤以及甲状旁腺功能低下的发生率低于对照组,但是两组间差异无统计学意义(P0.05),所有观察组患者的声音嘶哑现象均于术后3个月内恢复,而对照组有3例于3~6个月恢复,2例1年以上未好转。结论在甲状腺手术最终采用超声刀可明显缩短手术时间,减少术中出血量,利于术中对喉返神经和入喉处甲状腺组织的辨认和保护,是一种安全可行的手术方法。     

Facile synthesis of aminonaphthoquinone Mannich bases by noncatalytic multicomponent reaction

Mannich bases are formed in a noncatalytic multicomponent reaction, which is promoted by ultrasound irradiation. The procedure avoids the use of toxic solvents, catalyst, and purification, generating the desired compounds in excellent yields and short reaction times.