New insight into anti-wrinkle treatment: Using nanoparticles as a controlled release system to increase acetyl octapeptide-3 efficiency

Botulinum neurotoxins represent a revolution in cosmetic science because of their extraordinary and long-term anti-wrinkle properties. Nevertheless, high neurotoxicity severely limits their usage. Therefore, design and validation of new non-toxic molecules which mimics the Botox are needed. Here, acetyl octapeptide-3 is used which mimics the effect mechanism of botulinum neurotoxin to reduces the depth of wrinkles, was chosen as an alternative molecule. Glutamic acid containing poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate–methacryloylamidoglutamic acid) [p(HEMAG)] nanoparticles were synthesized for controlled release of acetyl octapeptide-3 to increase the efficiency on the related area. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to state the morphological characteristics of the synthesized nanoparticles, and the Fourier transform infrared was used to characterize chemical structures; additionally, the dimensional analysis was carried out by using a zeta-sizer device, and then, characterized nanoparticles were used for loading acetyl octapeptide-3. Time, pH, ionic strength, temperature and concentration experiments were performed to optimize the adsorption conditions of the acetyl octapeptide-3 to the nanoparticles. The maximum acetyl octapeptide-3 adsorption capacity onto nanoparticles was found 220.69 mg/g. The pH and temperature experiments were carried out to follow-up the release conditions of acetyl octapeptide-3-loaded nanoparticles. Lastly, cytotoxicity tests were done by using Alamar Blue method and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Assay. Our results imply that the developed nanocosmetic material is non-toxic, efficient and cost-effective and it is promising to use in anti-wrinkle treatment. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

p(HEMA)-RR241 hydrogel membranes with micron network for IgG depletion in proteomic studies

Serum proteins can generally be considered a good source for the illness' indication and are precious resources to detect diseases such as inflammation, cancer, diabetes, malnutrition, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, other autoimmune diseases, and infections. However, one of the biggest difficulties for proteomic studies is that the majority of serum protein mass consists of only a few proteins. Albumin and Immunoglobulin (IgG) constitute 80% of total serum protein. In this study, dye ligand affinity-based hydrogel membranes were proposed as new materials with micron mesh structures. Micron mesh p(HEMA) hydrogel membranes were synthesized by using the UV-photopolymerization method, then modified with Reactive Red 241 (RR241) dye ligand to increase the affinity towards IgG. Characterizations of synthesized micron mesh p(HEMA)-RR241 hydrogel membranes were also performed. It was demonstrated by the characterization studies that; the dye was successfully incorporated into the membrane structure with the amount of 119.38 mg/g. The hydrophilic property of the hydrogel membrane was demonstrated by swelling tests and the swelling value of dye modified membrane was found to be 8 times higher than that of the plain membrane. Micron network structure, as well as the porosity, were demonstrated with SEM/ESEM studies. Optimization of IgG adsorption conditions was also studied at different parameters (pH, temperature, ion strength, initial IgG concentration). Optimum pH, temperature, and ionic strength were found to be 6.5, 25 degrees C, 0.05 M, respectively, and the maximum IgG absorption value was 10.27 mg/g. Finally, it was shown that the proposed materials can be used repeatedly by 5 adsorption-desorption cycles

Using picoliter droplet deposition to track clonal competition in adherent and organoid cancer cell cultures

Abstract Clonal growth and competition underlie processes of key relevance in etiology, progression and therapy response across all cancers. Here, we demonstrate a novel experimental approach, based on multi-color, fluorescent tagging of cell nuclei, in combination with picoliter droplet deposition, to study the clonal dynamics in two- and three-dimensional cell cultures. The method allows for the simultaneous visualization and analysis of multiple clones in individual multi-clonal colonies, providing a powerful tool for studying clonal dynamics and identifying clonal populations with distinct characteristics. Results of our experiments validate the utility of the method in studying clonal dynamics in vitro, and reveal differences in key aspects of clonal behavior of different cancer cell lines in monoculture conditions, as well as in co-cultures with stromal fibroblasts