Characterization of Ultra‐Thin Temperature‐Responsive Polymer Layer and Its Polymer Thickness Dependency on Cell Attachment/Detachment Properties

Ultra thin poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) modified glass coverslips (PIAPAm‐CS) using electron beam irradiation exhibited a clear relationship between the polymer thickness and thermal cell adhesion/detachment behavior. The polymer thickness dependency and the characteristic of ultra thin PIPAAm layer, has been illustrated in terms of the molecular motion of the modified PIPAAm chains. PIPAAm‐CSs surfaces with various area‐polymer densities and thicknesses were characterized by AFM and protein adsorption assay. The newly obtained results gave a further insight into the illustration. Finally, the future application of intelligent surfaces was discussed for fabricating tissue and organ.

     

Biodegradable amphiphilic block copolymers containing functionalized PEO blocks:Controlled synthesis and biomedical potentials

A series of controllable amphiphilic block copolymers composed of poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO) as the hydrophilic block and poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL) as the hydrophobic block with the amino terminal group at the end of the PEO chain(PCL-b-PEO-NH2) were synthesized.Based on the further reaction of reactive amino groups,diblock copolymers with functional carboxyl groups(PCL-b-PEO-COOH) and functional compounds RGD(PCL-b-PEO-RGD) as well as the triblock copolymers with thermosensitive PNIPAAm blocks(PCL-b-PEO-b-P...     

Polymer-assisted nanoparticulate contrast-enhancing materials

The application of nanotechnology in medicine research has significant potential in modern biomedical research,disease diagnosis and therapy.Organic fluorophore-based detection techniques have been widely used as imaging and signal transduction tools for the detection of trace levels of analytes.The photosensitivity of the fluorophores,however,limits their application in such complex environments as living bio-systems where degradation or photobleaching occurs.Inorganic nanoparticles have unique and stable ...     

高分子辅助的纳米粒子造影增强材料

纳米技术和纳米医学的研究在生物医学、疾病诊断和治疗方面显示出了巨大的应用潜力. 有机荧光分子基检测技术已被广泛的用作造影和信号转换的工具用以测定痕量的分析物. 然而, 有机荧光分子基团的降解、光漂白作用使得其荧光的稳定性受到影响, 从而限制了它们在复杂的生理环境中的应用. 无机纳米粒子因其形状、尺寸和组成的不同而具有独特且稳定的光、电、磁及催化性能, 可用作新型的生物纳米造影材料, 能很好的解决造影检测技术所面临的难题. 并且, 纳米造影材料的表面修饰则可以提高它们的在生理条件下的稳定性和靶向生物活性分子的能力.     

Neuroprotection signaling pathway of nerve growth factor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor against staurosporine induced apoptosis in hippocampal H19-7 cells

Neurotrophins protect neurons against excitotoxicity; however the signaling mechanisms for this protection remain to be fully elucidated. Here we report that activation of the phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway is critical for protection of hippocampal cells from staurosporine (STS) induced apoptosis, characterized by nuclear condensation and activation of the caspase cascade. Both nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived growth factor (BDNF) prevent STS-induced apoptotic morphology and caspase-3 activity by upregulating phosphorylation of the tropomyosin receptor kinase (Trk) receptor. Inhibition of Trk receptor by K252a altered the neuroprotective effect of both NGF and BDNF whereas inhibition of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) had no effect. Impairment of the PI3K/Akt pathway or overexpression of dominant negative (DN)-Akt abolished the protective effect of both neurotrophins, while active Akt prevented cell death. Moreover, knockdown of Akt by si-RNA was able to block the survival effect of both NGF and BDNF. Thus, the survival action of NGF and BDNF against STS-induced neurotoxicity was mediated by the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling through the Trk receptor.     

肾小管上皮细胞损伤及其诱导草酸钙晶体成核

肾上皮细胞损伤可促进肾结石形成.本文采用过氧化氢(H2O2)对人类肾小管上皮细胞(HKC)进行了氧化损伤,采用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射分析(XRD)和倒置显微镜观察了HKC损伤前后的形态变化及其调控草酸钙(CaOxa)晶体成核、生长的差异;采用zeta电位分析仪检测了损伤前后HKC表面的zeta电位变化.结果表明,H2O2能明显地损伤HKC,降低细胞活性,且在H2O2浓度范围0.1～0.5mmol/L、作用时间0.5～1.5h内具有明显的剂量和时间的依赖性;使用0.5mmol/LH2O2作用1.5h可使HKC损伤达到饱和状态.HKC损伤程度增加后,其诱导的晶体数量显著增加,但晶体尺寸增加不明显(P0.05),表明损伤细胞诱导尿石症形成主要是增加晶体的成核位点而非促进晶体的生长.本文所建立的HKC氧化损伤的模型有助于进一步阐明CaOxa结石形成的细胞机制.     

溶胶-凝胶流动相异型直接甲醇燃料电池性能研究

以掺杂石墨粉的中间相碳微球(MCMB/G)烧结管为阴极支撑体,采用浸涂工艺分别制备了扩散层和催化层并在其外表面包裹Nafion膜,制得管状异型阴极并组装成异型直接甲醇燃料电池;采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了适用于直接甲醇燃料电池的溶胶-凝胶流动相。研究了溶胶-凝胶流动相异型直接甲醇燃料电池的阻抗,考察了阴极支撑体壁厚、阴极扩散层载量、实验温度和溶胶黏度等对电池极化性能的影响。结果表明,异型电池阻抗比传统平板电池大,但活化后电池阻抗明显下降;较低的溶胶黏度和较高的工作温度有利于提高电池性能;支撑体壁厚为1.3 mm、扩散层载量为3.5 mg/cm2时的电极性能最优。     

New separation methodologies for the distinction of the growth phases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell cycle

In the present work two separation techniques, namely the gravitational field-flow fractionation (GrFFF) and the reversed-flow gas chromatography (RFGC), are proposed for the distinction of the growth phases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (AXAZ-1) yeast cycle at different temperatures (30 °C, 25 °C, 20 °C, and 15 °C) and pH (2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0) values. During the fermentation processes, differences observed in the peak profiles, obtained by GrFFF, can be related with the unlike cell growth. The distinction of the phases of AXAZ-1 cell cycle with the GrFFF, was also confirmed with the RFGC technique, which presented similar fermentation time periods for the alcoholic fermentation phases. Simultaneously, the reaction rate constant for each phase of the fermentation process and the activation energies were determined with the aid of the RFGC technique. Finally, the application of both the GrFFF and the RFGC techniques, in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography, allowed us to find the ideal experimental conditions (temperature and pH) for the alcoholic fermentation by AXAZ-1. The results indicate that S. cerevisiae cells performed better at 30 °C, whereas at lower temperatures decreases in the fermentation rate and in the number of viable cells were observed. Moreover, the pH of the medium (pH 5.0) resulted in higher fermentation rates and ethanol productivities.     

Analysis of amino acids and biogenic amines in breast cancer cells by capillary electrophoresis using polymer solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate

We describe simultaneous analysis of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)-amino acid and NDA-biogenic amine derivatives by CE in conjunction with light-emitting diode-induced fluorescence detection using poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) solutions containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). After sample injection, via EOF 0.1% PEO prepared in 100 mM TB solution (pH 9.0) containing 30 mM SDS entered a capillary filled with 0.5 M TB solution (pH 10.2) containing 40 mM SDS. Under this condition, 14 NDA-amino acid and NDA-amine derivatives were separated within 16 min, with high efficiency ((1.0–3.2) × 10⁵ theoretical plates) and sensitivity (LODs at S/N = 3 ranging from 2.06 to 19.17 nM). In the presence of SDS and PEO, analytes adsorption on the capillary wall was suppressed, leading to high efficiency and reproducibility. The intraday analysis RSD values (n = 3) of the mobilities for the analytes are less than 0.52%. We have validated the practicality of this approach by quantitative determination of 9 amino acids in breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and 10 amino acids in normal epithelial cells (H184B5F5/M10). The concentrations of Tau and Gln in the MCF-7 cells were different than those in the H184B5F5/M10 cells, respectively. Our results show the potential of this approach for cancer study.