Protecting Substrates from Enzymatic Cleavage:Hydrogels of Low Molecular Weight Gelators Do The Trick

An enzymatically cleavable low molecular weight gelator (LMWG)-drug conjugate is described that is capable of gelating water at concentrations as low as 0.45 mM (=0.03 wt.%). By comparing the enzymatic cleavage kinetics of the LMWG-drug conjugate with those of a nongelating substrate, it was shown that although the enzyme (α-chymotrypsin) is still functional in the gel, molecules present within the gel fibers are protected from enzymatic cleavage

Self-assembled monolayers on gold for the fabrication of radioactive stents

An innovative and easily applicable method for the fabrication of radioactive stents, to be used for the treatment of restenosis, is presented. By incorporating the b-emitting radioisotopes 186Re, 188Re, 90Y, or 32P into sulfur-containing adsorbates, it becomes possible to cover a gold surface with a radioactive self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Two methods have been investigated. In the first, SAMs consisting of potentially radioactive rhenium-, yttrium-, and phosphorus-containing adsorbates have been assembled on 2D gold substrates, after which they have been studied by wettability measurements, electrochemistry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The stability of these SAMs under simulated physiological conditions (phosphate buffered saline, PBS solution) for periods up to two months has been demonstrated. Alternatively, potentially radioactive monolayers have been prepared by exposure of SAMs of mono-, bi-, and tridentate ligands to a solution containing a radiometal (rhenium) in order to bind the metal to the monolayer. The polydentate ligands exhibit excellent binding capacity, leading to SAMs containing over 10±10 mol/cm2 of the radiometal, which is more than sufficient to make this system viable for the delivery of therapeutical dosages of radiation

Will 3D printers manufacture your meals?

These days, 3D printers are laying down plastics, metals, resins, and other materials in whatever configurations creative people can dream up. But when the next 3D printing revolution comes, you'll be able to eat it

Method for the production of an edible object by powder bed (3D) printing and food products obtainable therewith

The present invention relates to a method for the production of an edible object, comprising providing an edible powder composition and at least one edible liquid, wherein the edible powder composition comprises a water soluble protein, a hydrocolloid and a plasticizer, and subjecting said composition to powder bed printing by depositing the edible liquid by spraying it onto the powder and thereby obtaining the edible object. Also food products obtainable with the method of the invention, particularly, a pasta, a cake object and a protein bar are disclosed

Water-soluble adamantane-terminated dendrimers possessing a rhenium core

A novel type of radiometal-containing dendrimer with potential radiotherapeutical applications is described. Different generations of this adamantane-terminated, Fréchet-type dendrimer (28, 29, 30), each consisting of two dendritic wedge ligands around a rhenium core, have been synthesized in organic solvent via reaction with ReO(PPh3)2Cl3. Through complexation of their adamantane groups by B-cyclodextrins (B-CDs), these dendrimers were made water soluble (9.6, 0.4, and 0.2 mM, respectively). B-CD-induced solubilization of the wedges in water allowed the complexes to be made under aqueous conditions, via reaction with rhenium gluconate. Not only does this strategy enable the facile synthesis of the radioactive analogue, the yields for these complex-formation reactions in water also turned out to be far higher than those observed for the reactions in organic solvents