Dendritic Polymers in Biomedical Applications: From Potential to Clinical Use in Diagnostics and Therapy

Dendrimers are characterized by a combination of high end‐group functionality and a compact, precisely defined molecular structure. These characteristics can be used in biomedical applications, for example, for the amplification or multiplication of effects on a molecular level, or to create extremely high local concentrations of drugs, molecular labels, or probe moieties. A brief summary of the current state of the art in the field is given, and focuses on the application of dendrimers both in diagnostics as well as in therapy. In diagnostics, dendrimers that bear Gd^III complexes are used as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. DNA dendrimers have potential for routine use in high‐throughput functional genomic analysis, as well as for DNA biosensors. Dendrimers are also being investigated for therapeutics, for example, as carriers for controlled drug delivery, in gene transfection, as well as in boron neutron‐capture therapy. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of dendrimers has been studied.     

A Comparison of the Gene Expression Profiles of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease between Animal Models of a High-Fat Diet and Methionine-Choline-Deficient Diet

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) embraces several forms of liver disorders involving fat disposition in hepatocytes ranging from simple steatosis to the severe stage, namely, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Recently, several experimental in vivo animal models for NAFLD/NASH have been established. However, no reproducible experimental animal model displays the full spectrum of pathophysiological, histological, molecular, and clinical features associated with human NAFLD/NASH progression. Although methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet and high-fat diet (HFD) models can mimic histological and metabolic abnormalities of human disease, respectively, the molecular signaling pathways are extremely important for understanding the pathogenesis of the disease. This review aimed to assess the differences in gene expression patterns and NAFLD/NASH progression pathways among the most common dietary animal models, i.e., HFD- and MCD diet-fed animals. Studies showed that the HFD and MCD diet could induce either up- or downregulation of the expression of genes and proteins that are involved in lipid metabolism, inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrogenesis pathways. Interestingly, the MCD diet model could spontaneously develop liver fibrosis within two to four weeks and has significant effects on the expression of genes that encode proteins and enzymes involved in the liver fibrogenesis pathway. However, such effects in the HFD model were found to occur after 24 weeks with insulin resistance but appear to cause less severe fibrosis. In conclusion, assessing the abnormal gene expression patterns caused by different diet types provides valuable information regarding the molecular mechanisms of NAFLD/NASH and predicts the clinical progression of the disease. However, expression profiling studies concerning genetic variants involved in the development and progression of NAFLD/NASH should be conducted.     

Electroreduction and Quantification of Furazolidone and Furaltadone in Different Media

 Adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry was used for the determination of furazolidone (FZ) and furaltadone (FD) in borax and phosphate buffers, respectively, using HMDE as working electrode. The influence of different factors upon the peak current response such as accumulation potential, scan rate, preconcentration time, pH and other variables was studied. Furazolidone and furaltadone showed an adsorption character on HMDE in presence of borax and phosphate buffers, respectively. A single cathodic peak at −0.36 V in borax (pH = 9.5) was observed for FZ, while FD gave a cathodic peak at −0.32 V in phosphate buffer (pH = 8.5). The calibration graph showed a linear behavior over the range 3×10⁻⁹–9×10⁻⁸ mol dm⁻³ for furazolidone. In the case of FD, concentrations from 3×10⁻⁹ to 2×10⁻⁷ mol dm⁻³ gave a linear relationship with the peak current. A detection limit of 2×10⁻⁹ mol dm⁻³ and 1×10⁻⁹ mol dm⁻³ was obtained for furazolidone and furaltadone, respectively. This method was applied to determine these drugs in pharmaceutical formulations, urine and serum samples. Received December 15, 1998. Revision February 4, 2000.     

Experimental investigation of flame/solid interactions in turbulent premixed combustion

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the interaction between propagating turbulent premixed flames and solid obstacles. The experimental rig was configured specifically to allow detailed measurements with laser-based optical diagnostics. A wall-type solid obstacle was mounted inside a laboratory-scale combustion chamber with rectangular cross-section. The flame was initiated, by igniting a combustible mixture of methane in air at the center of the closed end of the combustion chamber. The flame front development was visualized by a high-speed (9000 frame/s) digital video camera and flame images were synchronized with ignition timing and chamber pressure data. The tests were carried out with lean, stoichiometric and rich mixtures of methane in air. The images were used to calculate highly resolved temporal and spatial data for the changes in flame shape, speed, and the length of the flame front. The results are discussed in terms of the influence of mixture equivalence ratio on the flame structure and resulting overpressure. The reported data revealed significant changes in flame structure as a result of the interaction between the propagating flame front and the transient recirculating flow formed behind the solid obstacle. Combustion images show that the flame accelerates and decelerates as it impinges on the obstacle wall boundaries. It is also found that the mixture concentrations have a significant influence on the nature of the flame/solid interactions and the resulting overpressure. The highest flame speed of 40 m/s was obtained with the unity fuel–air equivalence ratio. Burning of trapped mixture behind the solid obstruction was found to be highly correlated with the flame front length and the rate of pressure rise.     

Spectrophotometric and Polarographic Studies on 9,10-Anthradione-2-Sodium Sulfonate

The effect of solvent structure on the rates of redox reactions in alcohol+water mixture was discussed by some authors. The rate of photoreduction of 9,10-anthraquinone-2-sulfonate was decreased by addition of H₂SO₄ but was unchanged by increase of ionic strengh with (NH₄)₂SO₄. The magnitude of the decrease in presence of acid was greater with ethanol or isopropanol than with N-ethylacetamide as substrate. The formation of semiquinone and carbonate radical anions was observed⁽⁴⁾ during the direct photoreaction. The electron transfer from the carbonate anion to sulfoanthraquinone in the first excited triplet state was the controlling step of this process. Therefore, anthraquinone β-sodium sulfonate is efficient sensitizers of the photooxidation of organic substrates in aqueous media.     

Highly efficient orthopalladated complexes of second and third benzyl amine for catalyzing the Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction

In this work, ortho‐palladated complexes [Pd(µ‐Cl)(C₆H₄CH₂ NRR′‐κ²‐C,N)]₂ and [Pd(C₆H₄CH₂NH₂‐2‐C,N)Cl(Y)] were tested in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross‐coupling reaction. Cyclopalladated Pd(II) complexes as thermally stable catalysts can activate aryl bromides and chlorides. These complexes were active and efficient catalysts for the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of aryl bromides and even less reactive aryl chlorides. The cross‐coupled products of a variety of aryl bromides and aryl chloride with phenylboronic acid in methanol as solvent at 60 °C were produced in excellent yields. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mössbauer studies on Al−Co ferrites

Mössbauer spectroscopy studies have been performed on the spinel CoAl_xFe_2?xO₄ (2<-x<-1.7) in the temperature range 77–750 K using either a liquid nitrogen bath cryostat or a furnace. The samples are magnetic at 77 K giving spectra that have magnetic sextets coexisting with a central line which increases in population with the Al-content indicating relaxation effects. The data shows that Al possesses no preference to either tetrahedral or octahedral sites of the ferrite over the whole range of concentration. The Mössbauer hyperfine interaction parameters and magnetic transition temperatures were determined. As expected the hyperfine field and Curie temperature decrease when the Al-content increases.