Encapsulation of doxorubicin into liposomes by a freeze-thawing method using buffer solution

When doxorubicin was encapsulated into liposomes by freeze-thawing, the percentage of encapsulated doxorubicin (EN%) was found to vary according to the type of buffer solution used. The reason for this was investigated in the present report. Drug-free liposomes prepared by hydration were mixed with doxorubicin dissolved in a certain type of buffer solution that shows a pH decrease on freezing, and this mixture was subjected to freeze-thawing. Doxorubicin was encapsulated by the liposomes due to the difference in pH between freezing and thawing. EN% depended on the pH of the buffer solution before freezing and increased significantly at over pH 7. About 60% of doxorubicin was encapsulated into liposomes after the Ist freeze-thawing cycle, and EN% was increased gradually with the number of freeze-thawing cycles. The addition of sugar to the experimental system was seen to affect doxorubicin encapsulation and the particle size of liposomes.     

ULTRA-LOW-LIGHT LEVEL CAMERA FOR PHOTON COUNTING IMAGING

Abstract— A new ultra-low-light level camera svstem has been developed to detect a single photon. Operation principles and some characteristics are presented.     

Extraction and spectrophotometric determination of zinc in coal fly ash and pond sediments with 2-[2-(3,5-dibromopyridyl)azo]-5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid

An extraction-spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of traces of zinc with 2-[2-(3,5-dibromopyridyl)azo]-5-dimethylaminobenzoic acid. The reagent forms a stable, blue 1:2 zinc/reagent complex that can be extracted into chloroform. The apparent molar absorptivity of the zinc(II) complex is 1.26 × 10⁵ l mol^?1 cm^?1 at 610 nm in chloroform. The reagent is relatively selective; interferences from cobalt, copper and nickel can be masked with dimethylglyoxime and aluminium and iron with a mixture of sodium fluoride and triethanolamine. The method is applied to the determination of zinc in coal fly ash and pond sediments with good precision and accuracy.     

Direct Oxidation of Propylene with Molecular Oxygen Over Ti-Modified Sulfated Zirconia Catalyst, 2. In Situ Diffuse Reflectance FT-IR Study

During the reaction of propylene with O₂, in situ Diffuse Reflectance FT-IR measurements were performed over Ti-modified SZ and SZ catalysts. Without O₂, the main bands characteristic of (branched) hydrocarbons, formed by oligomerization leading to, finally, carbonaceous residue, appeared within the range of 3900-2750 cm^-1, which was affected by the bands of surface OH groups. Investigation of these IR bands showed the role of molecular oxygen not only to limit the formation of carbonaceous species on the catalyst surface, but also to form oxygenates and these findings were in good agreement with the results of catalytic reaction.     

Evaluation of flow properties of dry powder inhalation of salbutamol sulfate with lactose carrier

The effects of the flow and packing properties of a drug/carrier powder mixture on emission of drug adhering to the carrier from capsules and inhalation devices were investigated. Model powder mixtures were designed consisting of lactose carriers with different particle shapes were prepared by surface treatment and micronized salbutamol sulfate. These powder mixtures were aerosolized by a Spinhaler, and in vitro deposition properties of salbutamol sulfate were evaluated by a twin impinger. The flow properties of the mixed powders were evaluated by the Carr's flowability index (FI) and Hausner's ratio (HR). The packing properties of the mixed powders were determined employing the tapping method. Compared with the powder mixed with the untreated lactose carrier, the FI, HR, and the constant K in Kawakita's equation of the powder mixture prepared using the surface-treated lactose carrier were significantly different, showing that the flow and packing properties of the drug/carrier powder mixture were improved. Using this surface-treated system, the handling of the powder mixture when packing into capsules is improved, which is desirable for handling dry powder inhalants. The fraction (%) of drug emitted from capsules and devices (EM) and the FI of the powder mixture were correlated. As the flow properties improved, the outflow of the powder mixture from capsules and devices became easier, and emission of drug adhering on the carrier from capsules and devices improved. Improvement of the inhalation process, such as the drug particles emitted from the inhalation system, is valuable for increasing inhalation properties of dry powder inhalation.     

Derivatization in Liquid Chromatograhy/Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Neurosteroids

 Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) is now considered to be the most promising analytical method for the determination of biological substances, especially nonvolatile or highly polar substances However, some compounds do not show enough sensitivity in LC/MS and soft ionization methods commonly used in LC/MS, such as electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), sometimes do not give satisfactory structural information This report presents an overview     

Derivatization in Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Neurosteroids

1　Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ　Ｇａｓｃｈｒｏｍａｔｏｇｒａｐｈｙ/ｍａｓｓｓｐｅｃｔｒｏｍｅｔｒｙ (ＧＣ/ＭＳ)ａｎｄｌｉｑｕｉｄｃｈｒｏｍａｔｏｇｒａｐｈｙ/ｍａｓｓｓｐｅｃｔｒｏｍｅｔｒｙ (ＬＣ/ＭＳ) ,ｒｅｐｒｅｓｅｎｔａｔｉｖｅｓｏｆｔｈｅｈｙｐｈｅｎａｔｅｄｔｅｃｈｎｉｑｕｅｓ ,ａｒｅｓｏｍｅｏｆｔｈｅｍｏｓｔｒｅｌｉａｂｌｅａｎａｌｙｔｉｃａｌｍｅｔｈｏｄｓ ,ｗｈｉｃｈａｒｅｔｈｅｓｙｎｅｒｇｉｓｔｉｃｃｏｍｂｉｎａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｗｏｐｏｗｅｒｆｕｌａｎａｌｙｔｉｃａｌｔｅｃｈｎｉｑｕｅｓ;…     

Relaxational behavior of birefringence of aqueous carboxymethylcellulose under an alternating electric field at frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz to 100 kHz

The d. c. component of birefringence of aqueous carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) under an a. c. electric field was measured at frequencies ranging from 0.1 Hz to 100 kHz. Three samples of different molecular weights were studied with varying degree of neutralization, polymer concentration and added salt concentration. The dispersion curve of birefringence consists of three relaxation bands,A, B andC in order of decreasing frequency. RelaxationB with a negative relaxation strength is ascribed to end-over-end rotation of almost rodlike CMC molecules. RelaxationA with a positive strength is attributed to the relaxation of electrical polarizability along the minor axis of molecule. RelaxationC possesses also a positive strength and is induced by clusters of CMC molecules.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. F. H. Müller.     

Proton acceleration to 40 MeV using a high intensity, high contrast optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification/Ti:sapphire hybrid laser system

Using a high-contrast (10(10):1) and high-intensity (10(21) W/cm(2)) laser pulse with the duration of 40 fs from an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification/Ti:sapphire laser, a 40 MeV proton bunch is obtained, which is a record for laser pulse with energy less than 10 J. The efficiency for generation of protons with kinetic energy above 15 MeV is 0.1%.     

Quasi-elastic scattering of the proton drip line nucleus 17F on 12C at 60 MeV

The quasi-elastic scattering angular distribution of the proton drip line nucleus ¹⁷F on a ¹²C target was measured at 60 MeV. The experimental data have been compared with the theoretical analysis based onto optical model and continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC). The couplings between breakup and elastic scattering channels, and between inelastic and elastic scattering channels resulted very weak. In order to explore the breakup effects the total reaction cross-section was deduced from the angular distribution of the quasi-elastic scattering data, and then compared with the existing data for the other weakly and tightly bound nuclei on ¹²C target using a universal function. From this comparison, we concluded that the breakup effect is not important for weakly bound projectiles on the light target as obtained also with the CDCC analysis.