离体龋齿的光热锁相成像检测试验

牙齿龋损是人类一种广泛存在的口腔疾病,如何能够尽早的发现早期龋齿,对患者牙齿龋损的预防与治疗具有重要意义。介绍了基于光热效应的光热锁相热成像技术,光热锁相热成像技术具有无损伤、高效率及探测面积大等优势被广泛应用于各类材料的无损检测。基于光热锁相热成像技术原理对人为模拟龋损的人类离体牙齿组织进行成像检测试验研究。首先开展了对不同模拟龋损位置离体牙齿的光热锁相成像试验,采用防酸指甲油对牙齿组织测试面进行开窗受控龋损(开窗大小为5 mm×5 mm),其中模拟龋损部位分别选择在牙齿组织的邻接面及牙颌面。试验结果显示,牙齿组织模拟龋损位置热波幅值增大,相位滞后增大且光热锁相成像的幅值图与相位图与X射线成像相比对模拟龋损部位表现出高敏感及高特异性;光热锁相成像技术对邻接面龋损比牙颌面龋损具有较高特异性。其次开展了对平滑面牙齿组织样本的多天(0,1,2,4及6 d)模拟龋损光热锁相成像跟踪试验研究,牙齿组织龋损程度采用X射线方法进行量化。试验结果表明,当龋损时间小于6 d时,X射线方法无法对龋损位置进行有效识别,而采用光热锁相热成像技术检测模拟龋损1 d的牙齿组织时,幅值差为3.82,相位差为10.57°,证明光热锁相热成像方法对牙齿组织龋损具有较高敏感性。提取的光热锁相成像幅值与相位与龋损时间具有良好的相关性。     

Antimicrobial properties of Ag loaded zeolite polyester polyurethane and silicone rubber and long-term properties after exposure to in-vitro ageing

In biomedical applications, tubes (e.g. catheters etc.) are commonly produced from polyurethane (PU) and silicone rubber which are known to be biocompatible materials. Several studies have shown that tubes, which are connected to the body (invasive) (especially urinary, tracheotomy and central venous catheters) are associated with infections. The present study reports the development of a new method aiming at obtaining antibacterial properties for PU and silicone rubber by mixing respective material with a natural antibacterial agent (Ag+ loaded zeolite) in different weight fractions. The influence of the zeolite content on the antimicrobial properties were analysed by exposure to bacteria (ISO 22196) and mixtures of fungi (ISO 846). The materials were also subject to artificial body fluids (Artificial Lysosomal Fluid (ALF) and Gamble’s solution) for periods up to three months and the subsequent changes in the chemical properties after in-vitro exposure were determined by Matrix Assisted Laser Deposition/Ionization Time Of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). It was established that the antimicrobial effect of the materials increased with the increase of the zeolite content. The wettability of the materials was found to decrease significantly during the in-vitro exposure, but this could not be correlated to the zeolite content. In the PU samples, the formation of free carbonyl and -OH groups was observed, which corresponds to oxidative degradation. In case of the silicone rubber the ratio of cyclic PDMS to linear PDMS (H, CH3 and dimethyl terminated) decreased, which indicates a change in the concentration of the compounds. The formation and increase of the O-H bond during the exposure was also confirmed by the infrared spectra of the material which corresponds to hydrolysis of the silicone rubber.     

Similarity in the metabolic profile in macroscopically involved and un-involved colonic mucosa in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: an in vitro proton (H) MR spectroscopy study

Background

The histological extent of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is greater than that evident by colonoscopic evaluation. We hypothesized that metabolic profile in macroscopically un-involved colonic mucosa in IBD is similar to that of controls with healthy colon. We thus assessed the differences in metabolic profile in macroscopically involved and un-involved colonic mucosa of IBD patients to further substantiate the extent of disease.

Patients and Methods

Colonic mucosal biopsies were obtained and snap frozen from both the macroscopically un-involved and involved colonic mucosa of IBD patients and macroscopically normal colonic mucosa of controls and were subjected to in-vitro high-resolution proton (¹H) magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy and the concentrations of metabolites were determined.

Results

Thirty-two metabolites were assigned in the proton MR spectrum of colonic mucosa of IBD patients. The concentrations of amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, valine, arginine, lysine, glutamine/glutamate, alanine), membrane metabolites (choline, glycerophosphorylcholine/phosphorylcholine), glycolytic product (lactate) and short chain fatty acid (formate) were significantly lower while significantly high level of glucose were observed in the macroscopically un-involved colonic mucosa of IBD patients compared to the macroscopically normal mucosa of controls. There was no significant difference in the concentrations of metabolites in macroscopically involved and un-involved colonic mucosa of IBD patients.

Conclusions

The metabolic profile in macroscopically un-involved colonic mucosa of IBD patients is similar to that of macroscopically involved mucosa but different from colonic mucosa of controls. This suggests that even macroscopically un-involved colonic mucosa is metabolically abnormal and may explain the increase in extent of disease with time.     

On-line coupling of physiologically relevant bioaccessibility testing to inductively coupled plasma spectrometry: Proof of concept for fast assessment of gastrointestinal bioaccessibility of micronutrients from soybeans

In-vitro physiologically relevant gastrointestinal extraction based on the validated Unified BARGE Method (UBM) is in this work hyphenated to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry in a batch-flow configuration for real-time monitoring of oral bioaccessibility assays with high temporal resolution. A fully automated flow analyzer is designed to foster in-line filtration of gastrointestinal extracts at predefined times (≤15 min) followed by on-line multi-elemental analysis of bioaccessible micro-nutrients, viz., Cu, Fe and Mn, in well-defined volumes of extracts (300 μL) of transgenic and non-transgenic soybean seeds taken as model samples.     

Synthesis,characterization, in-vitro biocidal and nuclease activity of some coordination compounds

Complexes of Cu(II), Fe(II) and Fe(III) have been synthesized with 2-nitro-3,3′-benzylidene bis[4-hydroxycoumarin]/4-chloro-3,3′-benzylidene bis[4-hydroxycoumarin]/4-hydroxy-3,3′-benzylidene bis[4-hydroxycoumarin]. They have been characterized using ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, IR spectra, electronic spectra, magnetic measurements, elemental analyses and screened for their in-vitro biocidal activity against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhi, and Serratia marcescens bacterial strains and for their in-vitro antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Lasiodiplodia theobromae. The metal complexes exhibit good activity against bacterial strains compared to parent compounds, but no significant antifungal activity against fungal strains. In-vitro nuclease activity has been carried out using agarose gel electrophoresis. The synthesized compounds show effective nuclease activity.     

Protein microarrays for diagnostic assays

Protein microarray technology has enormous potential for in vitro diagnostics (IVD). Miniaturized parallelized immunoassays are perfectly suited to generating a maximum of diagnostically relevant information from minute amounts of sample whilst only requiring small amounts of reagent. Protein microarrays have become well-established research tools in basic and applied research and the first products are already on the market. This article reviews the current state of protein microarrays and discusses developments and future demands relating to protein arrays in their role as multiplexed immunoassays in the field of diagnostics.

Study of the bioavailability of selenium in cows’ milk after a supplementation of cow feed with different forms of selenium

The purpose of the work described in this paper was to develop an easy and quick in-vitro method for comparing the bioavailability of selenium in cows’ milk after different cow feed. The study focuses on bioavailability differences resulting from the use of different selenium species (organic selenium as selenised yeast and sodium selenite) for supplementation of forage. A procedure for determination of selenium in cows’ milk and dialysates, by hydride-generation atomic-fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS) after microwave-assisted acid digestion, was optimised. The results show it is possible to obtain cows’ milk enriched with selenium at different concentration without altering the original composition of the milk. The bioavailability was statistically greater for cows’ milk obtained after supplementation of forage with organic selenium at levels of 0.4 and 0.5 μg Se g⁻¹ than for that obtained after supplementation with inorganic and organic selenium at levels of 0.2 and 0.3 μg Se g⁻¹.     

Plasmid DNA hydrogels for biomedical applications

In the last few years, our research group has focused on the design and development of plasmid DNA (pDNA) based systems as devices to be used therapeutically in the biomedical field. Biocompatible macro and micro plasmid DNA gels were prepared by a cross-linking reaction. For the first time, the pDNA gels have been investigated with respect to their swelling in aqueous solution containing different additives. Furthermore, we clarified the fundamental and basic aspects of the solute release mechanism from pDNA hydrogels and the significance of this information is enormous as a basic tool for the formulation of pDNA carriers for drug/gene delivery applications. The co-delivery of a specific gene and anticancer drugs, combining chemical and gene therapies in the treatment of cancer was the main challenge of our research. Significant progresses have been made with a new p53 encoding pDNA microgel that is suitable for the loading and release of pDNA and doxorubicin. This represents a strong valuable finding in the strategic development of systems to improve cancer cure through the synergetic effect of chemical and gene therapy.     

Preparation and mechanical behavior of PLGA/nano-BCP composite scaffolds during in-vitro degradation for bone tissue engineering

In this paper, the yield strength and elastic modulus of Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and PLGA/nano-biphasic calcium phosphate (nBCP) composite scaffolds, before and during in-vitro degradation, have been evaluated. Composite scaffolds were made by using PLGA matrix and 10-50 wt.% nBCP powder as the reinforcement material. All scaffolds, with more than 89% porosity, were fabricated by thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS). During in-vitro degradation (0-8 weeks), the PLGA/nBCP scaffolds showed both more weight loss and better mechanical properties as compared to neat PLGA scaffolds. The PLGA/nBCP scaffolds with 30 wt.% nBCP illustrated the highest value of yield strength among the composite scaffolds, before and after degradation, until 6 weeks. After 8 weeks, the yield strength values were very poor and close to each other. The values of elastic modulus for all samples were less than the half of their initial values after 6 weeks. However, after 8 weeks, the elastic moduli of all samples reduced to negligible values.     

可见光谱照明对小鼠卵母细胞及早期胚胎发育质量的影响

卵母细胞及早期胚胎在体外提取时难免受到可见光照明的刺激。但光照明对其体外发育质量的影响仍不明确。结合体外培养技术、无损成像技术(全场光学相干层析系统)及三维重构技术,在光强与曝光时间一致的条件下,首次实时原位地,从形态学角度,分析了不同可见光谱对小鼠卵母细胞及早期胚胎发育质量的影响。发现(1)与白光照明相比,蓝紫光显著降低卵母细胞生发泡破裂及第一极体排出比率,而在绿光及红光照明下,生发泡破裂及第一极体排出比率明显提高。(2)与白光组相比,蓝紫光组囊胚发生率明显下降,凋亡程度明显加大,而绿光及红光组囊胚发生率显著上调,凋亡程度明显减弱。这表明蓝紫光对小鼠卵母细胞及早期胚胎发育的损伤最大,而绿光和红光几乎无损伤。