Interactions between temperature-sensitive hydrogel microspheres and granulocytes

Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) has a low critical solution temperature (LCST) at 32°C in water and the hydrophilicity changes through the LCST. The microspheres whose surface was composed of PNIPAM exhibited phase transition behavior around 32°C. Therefore, the interactions between PNIPAM micropheres and granulocytes depended on the temperature. That is, the oxygen consumption and active oxygen production by cells in contact with PNIPAM-containing microspheres and adhesion of the microspheres to the cell surface were more enhanced above the LCST of PNIPAM than below it, whereas no significant temperature dependence of cell–microspheres interaction was observed in nonthermosensitive microsphere systems. It was suggested that the function of cells could be controlled with temperature using the temperature-sensitive microspheres.     

Small molecules as inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases

Cell division (mitosis) is one of the basic requirements for multicellular oranisms. The capability of a cell to replicate enables a complex assembly to be created. Faulty regulation of the control mechanism in the cell cycle leads to an excessive cell proliferation and is the cause of cancer. The key position of the cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their direct partners, as well as the fact that the majority of malign illnesses show defects in at least one of these key players of the cell cycle, is of great interest for the development of low-molecular-weight CDK inhibitors. In this Review an overview of the different structural classes of ATP-competitive inhibitors of CDKs are given, whose devlopment was aimed at battling cancer. The Review shows how far the development of selective CDK inhibitors has progressed and to what extent the expectations for such drugs have so far been fulfilled.     

Yeast cell microfiltration: Flux enhancement in baffled and pulsatile flow systems

The filtration performance of yeast cell harvesting was greatly improved by using an oscillatory flow mixing technique in both tubular and flat sheet membrane systems; flux increases of several fold were achieved. The effects of various operating parameters such as frequency, amplitude and ratio of net forward flow rate to oscillatory flow rate were investigated. A simple alternative to the dual head pump, which involved the use of solenoid valves for producing flow reversal, was developed. The flux was significantly increased using this new operating mode. As the only increase of power consumption was from inertia loss due to change of flow direction the additional power consumption is minimal.     

Novel polycationic biocides: Synthesis and antibacterial activity of polymeric phosphonium salts

Various polymeric phosphonium salts and the corresponding low-molecular-weight model compounds were prepared and their antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were explored by the viable cell counting method in sterile distilled water. Antibacterial activity of the polymers was found to be higher than that of the corresponding model compounds, particularly against S. aureus. Furthermore, the polymeric phosphonium salt exhibited a higher activity by 2 orders of magnitude than the polymeric quaternary ammonium salt with the same structure except the cationic part. Compounds with the longest alkyl chain (octyl) studied were found to exhibit particularly high activity, and this finding may be ascribed to the contribution of the increased hydrophobicity of the compounds to the cidal activity. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Determination of sulfates of androsterone and epiandrosterone in human serum using isotope diluted liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

A promising liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) for analysis of the sulfates of 5alpha-androgen, androsterone and epiandrosterone (A-S and EpiA-S) in human serum was developed. The method was used to assess one of the markers of 5alpha-reductase activity of males including patients with prostate cancer (PC). After deproteinization with acetonitrile, the androgen sulfates and the internal standard, [7,7,16,16-2H4]dehydroepiandrosterone-S, were extracted from human serum using a solid-phase extraction cartridge and washed with hexane. The extract was reconstituted and applied to the LC/ESI-MS system operated in the selected ion monitoring mode. The method was validated over the range 0.02-5 microg/mL (A-S) and 0.005-1.5 microg/mL (EpiA-S) using 10 microL of human serum. The method was a concise procedure without chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of the conjugates, purification by high-performance liquid chromatography and/or derivatization, and proved to be satisfactory in its reproducibility and accuracy. The levels of these androgen sulfates tended to decrease during aging, and the A-S levels in the sera obtained from both healthy males and patients with PC were correlated with their EpiA-S levels.     

NdOx作为助催化剂对PtRu/C电催化氧化甲醇活性的影响

采用沉积-还原法制备了PtRu-NdOx/C催化剂, 借助TEM、EDS和XRD等测试手段对其进行了微结构和组成的表征. 结果表明, 催化剂中Pt与Ru以合金形式存在, 而Nd的氧化物则以无定形形态存在. 催化剂粒子的平均粒径在2 nm左右, 晶胞参数为0.3896 nm, Nd氧化物的加入对PtRu合金的晶体结构影响不明显. 采用循环伏安法和计时电流法, 比较了PtRu-NdOx/C催化剂和PtRu /C催化剂对甲醇氧化的电催化活性, 结果表明, 加入Nd的氧化物作为助催化剂能明显提高PtRu /C催化剂对甲醇氧化的电催化性能.     

芯片式流通池顺序注射可更新表面反射光谱法用于酶反应检测

将芯片式流通池顺序注射可更新表面反射光谱法用于酶反应检测。HRP催化H2O2氧化BPR底物的反应用于对H2O2的检测。此反应体系与葡萄糖氧化酶联用，用于对血清中葡萄糖的检测。     

BRCA1 mutation screening using restriction endonuclease fingerprinting-single-strand conformation polymorphism in an automated capillary electrophoresis system

Efficient mutation scanning techniques are needed for the rapid detection of novel disease-associated mutations and rare-sequence variants of putative importance. The large size of the breast cancer 1 gene (BRCA1) and the many mutations found throughout its entire coding sequence make screening for mutations in this gene particularly challenging. We have developed a method for screening exon 11 of the BRCA1 gene based on restriction enzyme digestion of fluorescence-labeled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products followed by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) using an automated capillary electrophoresis system, denoted capillary restriction endonuclease fingerprinting (REF)-SSCP electrophoresis. Using this strategy on a control set of samples, we were able to detect 17 of 18 known sequence alterations. The method was then applied to screen 73 Norwegian females with family histories of breast and/or ovarian cancer. A total of 172 sequence alterations were detected, including substitutions, insertions, and deletions. One novel substitution of unknown function was identified. Sequencing of all samples negative in the capillary REF-SSCP system gave no additional mutations confirming the high sensitivity of the described methodology. Capillary REF-SSCP electrophoresis appeared as a technically convenient technique, requiring amplification of fewer PCR fragments than traditional SSCP. The novel strategy allows high-throughput mutation scanning without radioactive labeling and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE).     

淫羊藿根与叶活性成分的分析和比较

采用细胞膜色谱法（ＣＭＣ）筛选，并结合离体药理实验确定主要活性成分，利用高效液相色谱法分析比较了淫羊藿根与叶中的活性成分及其差异性．色谱条件为Ｋｒｏｍａｓｉｌ ＯＤＳ 柱（１５０ ｍｍ× ４．６ ｍｍ．Ｉ．Ｄ ）流动相甲醇－水（７０：３０，Ｖ：Ｖ）；检测波长２７０ｎｍ。筛选发现淫羊藿根中的两个有效成分ＹＹＨ－２１４和ＹＹＨ－２１６对血管有较强的舒张作用，表明活性成分在ＣＭＣ模型体系中的保留特性与药理作用之间存在良好的相关性。在此色谱条件下淫羊藿叶未检测到这两种活性成分．     

Expression and Characterization of Catalytic Domain of T Cell Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase（△TC-PTP） —— Immunohistochemical Study of △TC-PTP Expression in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinomas

This study objective was to express and characterize the catalytic domain of the human T cell protein tyrosine phosphatase（△TC-PTP） and to study immunohistochemically the expression of △TC-PTP in human non-small cell lung cancers. △TC-PTP gene was PCR amplified with the cDNA of human TC-PTP as template, and cloned into the pT7 expression vector. The recombinant pT7-△TC-PTP was expressed in E. coli Rosetta （ DE3 ） host cells and puri- fied. The enzymatic characteristics of △TC-PTP including enzyme activity and kinetics assay were measured. The antiserum was prepared by immunizing rabbit with the purified recombinant △TC-PTP. Rabbit polyclonal antibody against △TC-PTP was purified by PVDF immobilized antigen affinity chromatography. Immunohistochemical staining of lung cancer tissues was performed with antibody against △TC-PTP protein. △TC-PTP gene was correctly cloned, expressed, and purified. The recombinant △TC-PTP had a highly catalytic activity of PTPase. Squamous cell lung carcinoma showed a significantly higher expression rate of △TC-PTP （76. 92%, 10/13 ） than adenocarcinoma （57.14%, 4/7） and normal lung tissue（20%, 1/5 ）. This study represents the first demonstration that △TC-PTP is highly expressed in human squamous cell lung carcinomas. In addition, this study provides an important basis for further studying the biological function of TC-PTP and its relationship with lung carcinomas and other diseases.