Comparison between radioimmunoanalysis and Mancini methods for a case of ascorbic acid radioprotection on rats contaminated with tritiated water

The recovery of humoral immune response has been comparatively studied by a radioimmunoanalysis (RIA) method and by Mancini single immunoradial diffusion method in an experiment consisting in chronic contamination with low doses of tritiated water (HTO) and oral administration of high doses of ascorbic acid on rats as radioprotector. The radioprotective effect of ascorbic acid was found to be dependent both on the radiation dose and the amount of ascorbic acid administered.     

DMT1 Inhibitors Kill Cancer Stem Cells by Blocking Lysosomal Iron Translocation

Cancer stem cells (CSC) constitute a cell subpopulation in solid tumors that is responsible for resistance to conventional chemotherapy, metastasis and cancer relapse. The natural product Salinomycin can selectively target this cell niche by directly interacting with lysosomal iron, taking advantage of upregulated iron homeostasis in CSC. Here, inhibitors of the divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) have been identified that selectively target CSC by blocking lysosomal iron translocation. This leads to lysosomal iron accumulation, production of reactive oxygen species and cell death with features of ferroptosis. DMT1 inhibitors selectively target CSC in primary cancer cells and circulating tumor cells, demonstrating the physiological relevance of this strategy. Taken together, this opens up opportunities to tackle unmet needs in anti-cancer therapy.     

Characterization of β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex with procaine hydrochloride by 1H NMR and ITC

The inclusion of local anesthetic drug procaine hydrochloride by β-cyclodextrin was investigated by 1D and 2D proton NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) at 298 K. The stoichiometry of the complex was determinate by the method of continuous variation, using the chemical induced shift of both host and guest protons. The association constant K, of the obtained complex was calculated and found to be 293.17 M^?1. Rotating frame NOE spectroscopy, was used to ascertain the solution geometry of the host–guest complex. The result reveals that the procaine molecule penetrates into the β-cyclodextrin cavity with the aromatic ring. The energetics of complexation process is investigated by ITC technique. The analysis indicates that the complexation of procaine by β-CD is an exothermic process and show that both enthalpy and entropy contribute to the binding process. The obtained value for the association constant is in good agreement with that obtained from NMR.     

RWMCS – An alternative random walk Monte Carlo code to simulate light scattering in biological suspensions

In biological suspensions, the forward light scattering is done mainly by the contribution of the suspended cells. The multiple scattering is almost always unavoidable, its contribution being described by Monte Carlo simulations or by approximate analytical formula. The Monte Carlo approach we propose moves one photon at a time and checks all scattering centers to find, at each simulation step, which one will scatter the photon. The validation of the simulation results is performed by comparing the obtained angular distribution with the predictions of the effective phase function theory reported recently in the literature and with the angle resolved experimental measurements performed on human red blood cells (RBCs) in suspensions at different hematocrits. The results show a good agreement in the small concentration range.     

Antioxidant activity of rosemary extracts in solution and embedded in polymeric systems

The rosemary extract was encapsulated in polyethylene or in covalently-based network gels. The covalent gels were obtained by the reaction of isocyanate end-capped polyethylene glycol (PEG) with β-cyclodextrin or glycerol. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity (AA) of rosemary extract entrapped in polymeric structures and in ethanol or water solutions. The AA of the rosemary extract was determined using a DPPH radical for samples prepared in ethanol, and a water-soluble derivative, the sulphonated DPPH radical (DPPH-SO₃Na), for the rosemary extract in water. Formulation of the rosemary extract in polymeric gels ensures a rapid release which determines the AA values similar to those in solution.     

Biosystem response to soft-X-rays irradiation: non-monotonic effects in the relevant biological parameters of yeast cells

Summary Soft-X-rays irradiation of yeast cells allows selective interference with different cellular structures. The monitoring of different physical parameters leads to substantial variations in the response to X-rays showing that monotonicity should not be taken for granted. Also at INFM (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia).     

Enhancement of high harmonics generated by field steering of electrons in a two-color orthogonally polarized laser field

We demonstrate enhancement by 1 order of magnitude of the high-order harmonics generated in argon by combining a fundamental field at 1300 nm (10(14) W cm(-2)) and its orthogonally polarized second harmonic at 650 nm (2 × 10(13) W cm(-2)) and by controlling the relative phase between them. This extends earlier work by ensuring that the main effect is the combined field steering the electron trajectory with negligible contribution from multiphoton effects compared to the previous schemes with 800/400 nm fields. We access a broad energy range of harmonics (from 20 eV to 80 eV) at a low laser intensity (far below the ionization saturation limit) and observe deep modulation of the harmonic yield with a period of π in the relative phase. Strong field theoretical analysis reveals that this is principally due to the steering of the recolliding electron wave packet by the two-color field. Our modeling also shows that the atto chirp can be controlled, leading to production of shorter pulses.     

Magnetic characterization of some nanometric iron oxides

Nanosized magnetite particles embedded in polypyrrole matrix have been studied by Mössbauer and electron magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Comparison with as grown magnetite is made. Hyperfine fields distribution is determined and line shape of resonance curves are discussed in terms of composite structure, sizes and treatments.     

Investigation of nanostructured Fe3O4 polypyrrole core-shell composites by X-ray absorbtion spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation

In this article, we focus on the structural peculiarities of nanosized Fe₃O₄ in the core-shell nanocomposites obtained by polymerization of conducting polypyrrole shell around Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The local structure of Fe atoms was determined from the Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure analysis using our own package computer programs. An X-ray diffraction method that is capable to determine average particle size, microstrains, as the particle size distribution of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles is presented. The method is based on the Fourier analysis of a single X-ray diffraction profile using a new fitting method based on the generalized Fermi function facilities. The crystallites size obtained by X-ray diffraction spectra analysis was estimated between 3.2 and 10.3 nm. Significant changes in the first and the second Fe coordination shell in comparison with standard bulk were observed. The global and local structure of the nanosized Fe₃O₄ are correlated with the synthesis conditions of the core-shell polypyrrole nanocomposites.