Targeted Delivery of Anticancer Drug Loaded Charged PLGA Polymeric Nanoparticles Using Electrostatic Field

Pure positive electrostatic charges (PPECs) show suppressive effect on the proliferation and metabolism of invasive cancer cells without affecting normal tissues. PPECs are used for the delivery of drug-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (DLNs) capped with negatively charged poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and Poly(vinyl-alcohol) PVA into the tumor site of mouse models. The charged patch is installed on top of the skin in the mouse models' tumor region, and the controlled selective release of the drug is assayed by biochemical, radiological, and histological experiments on both tumorized models and normal rats' livers. It is found that DLNs synthesized by PLGA show great attraction to PPECs due to their stable negative charges, which would not degrade immediately in blood. The burst and drug release after less than 48h of this synthesized DLNs are 10% and 50%, respectively. These compounds can deliver the loaded-drug into the tumor site with the assistance of PPECs, and the targeted-retarded release will take place. Hence, local therapy can be achieved with much lower drug concentration (conventional chemotherapy [2 mg kg⁻¹] versus DLNs-based chemotherapy [0.75 mg kg⁻¹]) with negligible side effects in non-targeted organs. PPECs have many potential clinical applications for advanced-targeted chemotherapy with the lowest discernible side effects.     

Recent Advances in the Support Layer,Interlayer and Active Layer of TFC and TFN Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) Membranes: A Review

Although separation of solutes from organic solutions is considered a challenging process, it is inevitable in various chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. OSN membranes are the heart of OSN technology that are widely utilized to separate various solutes and contaminants from organic solvents, which is now considered an emerging field. Hence, numerous studies have been attracted to this field to manufacture novel membranes with outstanding properties. Thin-film composite (TFC) and nanocomposite (TFN) membranes are two different classes of membranes that have been recently utilized for this purpose. TFC and TFN membranes are made up of similar layers, and the difference is the use of various nanoparticles in TFN membranes, which are classified into two types of porous and nonporous ones, for enhancing the permeate flux. This study aims to review recent advances in TFC and TFN membranes fabricated for organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) applications. Here, we will first study the materials used to fabricate the support layer, not only the membranes which are not stable in organic solvents and require to be cross-linked, but also those which are inherently stable in harsh media and do not need any cross-linking step, and all of their advantages and disadvantages. Then, we will study the effects of fabricating different interlayers on the performance of the membranes, and the mechanisms of introducing an interlayer in the regulation of the PA structure. At the final step, we will study the type of monomers utilized for the fabrication of the active layer, the effect of surfactants in reducing the tension between the monomers and the membrane surface, and the type of nanoparticles used in the active layer of TFN membranes and their effects in enhancing the membrane separation performance.     

Selective extraction of apixaban from plasma by dispersive solid-phase microextraction using magnetic metal organic framework combined with molecularly imprinted polymer nanocomposite

This research aims to synthesize a specific and efficient sorbent to use in the extraction of apixaban from human plasma samples and its determination by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. High specific surface area of metal-organic framework, magnetic property of iron oxide nanoparticles, selectively of molecular imprinted polymer toward the analyte, and the combination of dispersive solid-phase extraction method with a sensitive analysis system provided an efficient analytical method. In this study, first, a molecularly imprinted polymer combined with magnetic metal organic framework nanocomposite was prepared and then characterized using different techniques. Then the sorbent particles were used for selective extraction of the analyte from plasma samples. The efficiency of the method was improved by optimizing effective parameters. According to the validation results, wide linear range (1.02–200 ng mL⁻¹), acceptable coefficient of determination (0.9938), low limit of detection (0.32 ng mL⁻¹) and limit of quantification (1.02 ng mL⁻¹), high extraction recovery (78%), and good precision (relative standard deviations ≤ 2.9% for intra- (n = 6) and interday (n = 6) precisions) were obtainable using the proposed method. These outcomes showed the high potential of the proposed method for screening apixaban in the human plasma samples.     

A finite element framework for the numerical implementation of boundary potentials

This contribution deals with the implications of boundary potential energies on deformational mechanics in the framework of the finite element method at finite strains. The common material models in continuum mechanics are taking the bulk into account, nevertheless, neglecting the boundary. However, boundary effects sometimes play a dominant role in the material behavior, e.g. surface tension in fluids. The boundary potentials, in general, are allowed to depend not only on the boundary deformation gradient but also on the spatial surface–normal / curve–tangent, as well. For the finite element implementation, a suitable curvilinear coordinate system attached to the boundary is defined and corresponding geometrical and kinematical derivations are carried out. Afterwards, the discretization of the generalized weak formulation, including boundary potentials, is carried out and finally numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the boundary effects due to the different proposed material behavior. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Numerical Simulation of a Turbulent FSI Benchmark Case

In an effort to expand the capabilities of a validated simulation environment for fluid-structure interaction to turbulent flows, we present the simulation of a turbulent FSI benchmark case with large displacements in a simplified two-dimensional unsteady RANS setup. We find a fair agreement to experimental data that encourages further refinement of our approach and future three-dimensional simulations with eddy-resolving schemes. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

On the fractional-order extended Kalman filter and its application to chaotic cryptography in noisy environment

In this paper via a novel method of discretized continuous-time Kalman filter, the problem of synchronization and cryptography in fractional-order systems has been investigated in presence of noisy environment for process and output signals. The fractional-order Kalman filter equation, applicable for linear systems, and its extension called the extended Kalman filter, which can be used for nonlinear systems, are derived. The result is utilized for chaos synchronization with the aim of cryptography while the transmitter system is fractional-order, and both the transmitter and transmission channel are noisy. The fractional-order stochastic chaotic Chen system is then presented to apply the proposed method for chaotic signal cryptography. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Finite element buckling analysis of multi-layered graphene sheets on elastic substrate based on nonlocal elasticity theory

Graphene-polymer nano-composites are one of the most applicable engineering nanostructures with superior mechanical properties. In the present study, a finite element (FE) approach based on the size dependent nonlocal elasticity theory is developed for buckling analysis of nano-scaled multi-layered graphene sheets (MLGSs) embedded in polymer matrix. The van der Waals (vdW) interactions between the graphene layers and graphene-polymer are simulated as a set of linear springs using the Lennard-Jones potential model. The governing stability equations for nonlocal classical orthotropic plates together with the weighted residual formulation are employed to explicitly obtain stiffness and buckling matrices for a multi-layered super element of MLGS. The accuracy of the current finite element analysis (FEA) is approved through a comparison with molecular dynamics (MD) and analytical solutions available in the literature. Effects of nonlocal parameter, dimensions, vdW interactions, elastic foundation, mode numbers and boundary conditions on critical in-plane loads are investigated for different types of MLGS. It is found that buckling loads of MLGS are generally of two types namely In-Phase (INPH) and Out-of-Phase (OPH) loads. The INPH loads are independent of interlayer vdW interactions while the OPH loads depend on vdW interactions. It is seen that the decreasing effect of nonlocal parameter on the OPH buckling loads dwindles as the interlayer vdW interactions become stronger. Also, it is found that the small scale and polymer substrate have noticeable effects on the buckling loads of embedded MLGS.     

Reserve stock models: Deterioration and preventive replenishment

Reserve stocks are needed in a wide spectrum of industries from strategic oil reserves to tactical (machine buffer) reserves in manufacturing. One important aspect under-looked in research is the effect of deterioration, where a reserve stock, held for a long time, may be depleted gradually due to factors such as spoilage, evaporation, and leakage. We consider the common framework of a reserve stock that is utilized only when a supply interruption occurs. Supply outage occurs randomly and infrequently, and its duration is random. During the down time the reserve is depleted by demand, diverted from its main supply. We develop optimal stocking policies, for a reserve stock which deteriorates exponentially. These policies balance typical economic costs of ordering, holding, and shortage, as well as additional costs of deterioration and preventive measures. Our main results are showing that (i) deterioration significantly increases cost (up to 5%) and (ii) a preventive replenishment policy, with periodic restocking, can offset some of these additional costs. One side contribution is refining a classical reserve stock model (Hansmann, 1962).     

On extension and refinement of the Poincaré inequality

The aim of this paper is to analyze the heat semigroup ${(\mathcal{N}_{t})_{t >0 } = \{e^{t \Delta}\}_{t >0 }}$ generated by the usual Laplacian operator Δ on ${\mathbb{R}^{d}}$ equipped with the d-dimensional Lebesgue measure. We obtain and study, via a method involving some semigroup techniques, a large family of functional inequalities that does not exist in the literature and with the local Poincaré and reverse local Poincaré inequalities as particular cases. As a consequence, we establish in parallel a new functional and integral inequality related to the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck semigroup.