Phospholipid membrane encapsulation of nanoparticles for surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Lipid-encapsulated surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanoparticles, with promising applications in biomedical diagnostics, were produced. Gold nanoparticles, 60 nm in diameter, were coated with a ternary mixture of DOPC, sphingomyelin, and cholesterol. The lipid layer is versatile for engineering the chemical and optical properties of the particles. The stability of the lipid-encapsulated particles is demonstrated over a period of weeks. The versatility of the layer is demonstrated by the incorporation of three different Raman-active species using three different strategies. The lipid layer was directly observed by TEM, and the SERS spectrum of the three dye species was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. UV-vis absorption and dynamic light scattering provide additional evidence of lipid encapsulation. The encapsulation is achieved in aqueous solution, avoiding phase transfer and possible contamination from organic solvents. Furthermore, when fluorescent dye-labeled lipids were employed in the encapsulant, the fluorescence and SERS activity of the particles were controlled by the use of dissolved ions in the preparation solution.     

Development, characterization and performance evaluation of oro-dispersible tablet containing aceclofenac hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin binary system

The purpose of this research was to mask the intensely bitter taste of aceclofenac (ACF) and to formulate oro dispersible tablet (ODT) of the taste-masked drug. Taste masking was done by complexing aceclofenac with Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin (HPβCD) by different methods. Phase solubility studies indicated complex with possible stoichiometry of 1:1 and a stability constant of 221.11 M^?1. The complexes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry studies. The characterization studies confirmed inclusion of the ACF within the nonpolar cavity of HPβCD in the neutralization method (NM). Remarkable improvement in the in vitro drug release profiles in pH 6.8 phosphate buffer was observed with all complexes, especially the neutralization. The complexes of ACF–HPβCD (1:1) was compressed into tablet and properties of tablets such as tensile strength, wetting time, in vitro disintegration time, and disintegration in the oral cavity were investigated to elucidate the wetting and disintegration characteristics of tablets. Polyplasdone XL-10 7% wt/wt gave the minimum disintegration time. Tablets of batch F4 containing Avicel 200 and 7% wt/wt Polyplasdone XL-10 showed faster disintegration, within 12 s, than the marketed tablet (128 s). Good correlation between in vitro disintegration with in-house developed method and in the oral cavity was recognized. Taste evaluation of ODT in human volunteers revealed considerable taste masking with the degree of bitterness below threshold value. Thus, results conclusively demonstrated successful masking of taste and rapid disintegration of the formulated tablets in the oral cavity.     

Design and development of quantum dots and other nanoparticles based cellular imaging probe

One goal of nanotechnology is to prepare cellular nanoprobes for various biological applications where conventional molecular probes fall short of long-term stability and simultaneous detection of multiple signals. Successful development of cellular nanoprobes requires the availability of a library of functional nanoparticles, knowledge of their interactions with cells and mechanism of cellular entry and to modulate these interactions by appropriate design of surface functionality. Although a great deal of research has been done in past 15 years, only limited success has been achieved in live cell labeling with high specificity, sub-cellular targeting and single molecule trafficking. This article focuses on the author's effort in making cellular imaging nanoprobes from different nanoparticles and discusses the most critical issues in the context of current knowledge, such as different variables that often influence labeling, non-specific binding/uptake of nanoprobes and specific live cell labeling. Finally, the important role of coating chemistry to overcome these problems has been highlighted and some successful labeling results have been summarized.     

Three-step synthesis of cyclopropyl peptidomimetics

An efficient approach to novel cyclopropyl peptidomimetics has been developed. The synthetic route involves a cyclopropanation using ethyl (dimethylsulfuranylidene)acetate (EDSA) as the key step and affords a cyclopropyl peptidomimetic core in three steps from protected amino acid Weinreb amides.     

Role of conformational isomerism in solvent-mediated charge transfer in chiral (S) 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinoline methanol (THIQM): condensed-phase to jet-cooled spectroscopic studies

Intramolecular charge-transfer reaction in chiral (S) 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinoline methanol (THIQM) has been investigated in the condensed phase and in jet-cooled conditions by means of laser-induced fluorescence, dispersed emission, resonance-enhanced two-photon ionization, and IR-UV double resonance experiments, as well as quantum chemical calculations. In the condensed phase, THIQM only shows local emission in nonpolar and protic solvents and dual emission in aprotic polar solvents, where the solvent-polarity dependent Stokes shifted emission is ascribed to a state involving charge transfer from the nitrogen lone pair to the benzene π-cloud. Ab initio calculations reveal two low-energy conformers, which are observed in jet-cooled conditions. In the most stable conformer, THIQM(I), the CH(2)OH substituent acts as a hydrogen bond donor to the nitrogen lone pair in the equatorial position, while the second most stable conformer, THIQM(II), corresponds to the opposite NH···O hydrogen bond, with the nitrogen lone pair in the axial position. The two low-energy jet-cooled conformers of THIQM evidenced from the laser-induced fluorescence and dispersed emission spectra only show structured local emission. Complexes with usual solvents reproduce the condensed phase properties. The jet-cooled complex with aprotic polar solvent acetonitrile shows both local emission and charge transfer emission as observed in solution. The jet-cooled hydrate mainly shows local emission due to the unavailability of the nitrogen lone pair through intermolecular hydrogen bonding.     

Photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer phenomena in 5-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-penta-2,4-dienoic acid

A donor acceptor substituted aromatic system 5-(4-dimethylamino-phenyl)-penta-2,4-dienoic acid (DMAPPDA) has been synthesized and its spectral properties have been explored on the basis of steady state absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Spectral features point largely towards a possible occurrence of photoinduced intramolecular charge transfer process from the donor NMe2 group to the acceptor acid group. Solvent dependency of the large Stokes' shifted emission band and the calculated large excited state dipole moment support the polar character of the charge transfer excited state. Quantum yield calculations and effect of addition of acid and base on the steady state spectra were also performed to further scrutinize the excited state CT character.     

Constrained photophysics of partially and fully encapsulated charge transfer probe (E)-3-(4-Methylaminophenyl) acrylic acid methyl ester inside cyclodextrin nano-cavities: evidence of cyclodextrins cavity dependent complex stoichiometry

The polarity sensitive intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT) emission from (E)-3-(4-Methylaminophenyl) acrylic acid methyl ester (MAPAME) is found to show distinct changes once introduced into the nano-cavities of cyclodextrins in aqueous environment. Movement of the molecule from the more polar aqueous environment to the less polar, hydrophobic cyclodextrin interior is marked by the blue shift of the CT emission band with simultaneous fluorescence intensity enhancement. The emission spectral changes on complexation with the α- and β-CD show different stoichiometries as observed from the Benesi-Hildebrand plots. Fluorescence anisotropy and lifetime measurements were performed to probe the different behaviors of MAPAME in aqueous α- and β-CD solutions.     

Analysis of the M/G/1 processor-sharing queue with bulk arrivals

We analyze the single server processor-sharing queue for the case of bulk arrivals. We obtain an expression for the expected response time of a job as a function of its size, when the service times of jobs have a generalized hyperexponential distribution and more generally for distributions with rational Laplace transforms. Our analysis significantly extends the class of distributions for which processor-sharing queues with bulk arrivals were previously analyzed.     

nDEP microwells for single-cell patterning in physiological media

We present a novel technique to accurately position single cells on a substrate using negative dielectrophoresis and cell-substrate adhesion. The cells are suspended in physiological media throughout the patterning process. We also verify the biocompatibility of this method by demonstrating that the patterned cells proliferate and show normal morphology. We calculate the temperatures and transmembrane potential that cells in the device experience and compare them to physiologically acceptable levels described in previous studies.