Cell membrane changes induced by the cytolytic peptie, melittin, are detectable by 90 degree laser scatter

The 90 light scatter parameter of the flow cytometer was used to observe changes in the membrane of human lymphoblastoid cells (HMy2) as a result of the action of the cytolytic peptide, melittin. There was a rapid and concentrationdependent increase in 90 light scatter after incubation of the cells with melittin, with the level of 90 light scatter reaching a maximum after 2 min. Even after all the cells were killed, as determined by ethidium bromide incorporation, the 90 light scatter continued to increase. Further, the 90 light scatter changes were temper- memature dependent. The data are consistent with the formation of lipid vesicles, either attached to the cell membrane or intracellular, as confirmed by electron microscopy of cells treated with melittin. The results demonstrate the use of the flow cytometer to detect changes in the integrity of the cell membrane

Interaction Characterization of a Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Erlotinib with a Model Transport Protein in the Presence of Quercetin: A Drug–Protein and Drug–Drug Interaction Investigation Using Multi-Spectroscopic and Computational Approaches

The interaction between erlotinib (ERL) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied in the presence of quercetin (QUR), a flavonoid with antioxidant properties. Ligands bind to the transport protein BSA resulting in competition between different ligands and displacing a bound ligand, resulting in higher plasma concentrations. Therefore, various spectroscopic experiments were conducted in addition to in silico studies to evaluate the interaction behavior of the BSA-ERL system in the presence and absence of QUR. The quenching curve and binding constants values suggest competition between QUR and ERL to bind to BSA. The binding constant for the BSA-ERL system decreased from 2.07 × 104 to 0.02 × 102 in the presence of QUR. The interaction of ERL with BSA at Site II is ruled out based on the site marker studies. The suggested Site on BSA for interaction with ERL is Site I. Stability of the BSA-ERL system was established with molecular dynamic simulation studies for both Site I and Site III interaction. In addition, the analysis can significantly help evaluate the effect of various quercetin-containing foods and supplements during the ERL-treatment regimen. In vitro binding evaluation provides a cheaper alternative approach to investigate ligand-protein interaction before clinical studies

A Bibliometric Analysis of the Studies on Self-Healing Concrete Published between 1974 and 2021

Research on self-healing concrete has flourished in recent years. This paper aims to comprehensively understand the current research situation and future development directions of self-healing concrete. It summarizes and analyzes the publications on self-healing concrete from 1974 to 2021 to reveal the current key research topics and development trends and identifies the most productive research constitutes. The bibliometric analysis software Biblioshiny was used to analyze 1433 documents written by 2961 authors and published in 450 sources retrieved from Scopus. The analysis included an overview of the leading information and an analysis of the authors, countries, universities/institution, publications, and keywords. Results obtained from the author analysis suggest that tracking the work of the most productive authors is essential, as it will provide researchers with valuable information, such as possible leads and ideas for future research work and collaboration opportunities. Countries, universities/institutes, and publications analysis revealed that more collaboration leads to more exposure and a higher citation rate, significantly promoting self-healing research development. A keywords analysis highlighted the focus areas in self-healing concrete and presented potential gaps in the literature. The findings of this study will provide scholars with a comprehensive understanding of the current research work in the field of self-healing concrete and its future directions. Results can also benefit stakeholders in making effective decisions to direct the development of the self-healing industry