Effect of the surface chemical composition and of added metal cation concentration on the stability of metal nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in water

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) made of gold, silver, and platinum have been synthesized by means of pulsed laser ablation in liquid aqueous solution. Independently from the metal nature, all NPs have an average diameter of 10 ± 5 nm. The ζ-potential values are:-62 ± 7 mV for gold,-44 ± 2 mV for silver and-58 ± 3 for platinum. XPS analysis demonstrates the absence of metal oxides in the case of gold and silver NPs. In the case of platinum NPs, 22% of the particle surface is ascribed to platinum oxidized species. This points to a marginal role of the metal oxides in building the negative charge that stabilizes these colloidal suspensions. The investigation of the colloidal stability of gold NPs in the presence of metal cations shows these NPs can be destabilized by trace amounts of selected metal ions. The case of Ag+ is paradigmatic since it is able to reduce the NP ζ-potential and to induce coagulation at concentrations as low as 3 μM, while in the case of K+ the critical coagulation concentration is around 8 mM. It is proposed that such a huge difference in destabilization power between monovalent cations can be accounted for by the difference in the reduction potential

Treatment of coronary lesions with a novel crystalline sirolimus-coated balloon

BackgroundThere is mounting data supporting the use of drug-coated balloons (DCB) not only for treatment of in-stent restenosis (ISR), but also in native coronary artery disease. So far, paclitaxel-coated balloons represented the mainstay DCBs. The SeQuent® crystalline sirolimus-coated balloon (SCB) (B.Braun Medical Inc, Germany) represents a novel DCB, which allows a sustained release of the limus-drug. We evaluated its performance in an all-comer cohort, including complex coronary lesions.MethodsConsecutive patients treated with the SeQuent® SCB were analyzed from the prospective SIROOP registry (NCT04988685). We assessed clinical outcomes, including major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel myocardial infarction (TV-MI) and cardiovascular death. Angiograms and outcomes were independently adjudicated.ResultsFrom March 2021 to March 2023, we enrolled 126 patients and lesions, of which 100 (79%) treated using a “DCB-only” strategy and 26 (21%) with a hybrid approach (DES + DCB). The mean age was 68 ± 10 years, 48 (38%) patients had an acute coronary syndrome. Regarding lesion characteristics, ISR was treated in 27 (21%), 11 (9%) underwent CTO-PCI and 59 (47%) of the vessels were moderate to severe calcified. Procedural success rate was 100%. At a median follow-up time of 12.7 (IQR 12; 14.2) months, MACE occurred in 5 patients (4.3%). No acute vessel closure was observed.ConclusionsOur data indicates promising outcomes following treatment with this novel crystalline SCB in an all-comer cohort with complex coronary lesions. These results require further investigation with randomized trials

Metal free percutaneous coronary interventions in all-comers: First experience with a novel sirolimus-coated balloon

Background: Limus-eluting stents have become the mainstay for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, even with the latest generation drug-eluting stent, in-stent restenosis and very late stent thrombosis remain a concern. The Selution SLR™ drug-coated balloon (DCB) is a novel sirolimus-coated balloon that provides a controlled release of the antiproliferative drug. Herein is evaluated its performance in a real-world patient cohort with complex coronary artery lesions. Methods: Patients undergoing PCI using the Selution SLR™ DCB were analyzed from the prospective SIROOP registry. We evaluated procedural success and clinical outcomes, including major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization. Results: From September 2020 to April 2021, we enrolled 78 patients (87 lesions) treated using a “DCB only” strategy. The mean age was 66.7 ± 10.4 years and 28 (36%) presented with an acute coronary syndrome. Almost all lesions were type B2/C 86 (99%) and 49 (63%) had moderate to severe calcifications. Procedural success was 100%. After a median follow-up of 11.2 months (interquartile range: 10.0–12.6), MACE occurred in 5 (6.8%) patients. No acute vessel closure was observed. Conclusions: In complex coronary lesions, a “DCB only” strategy using the Selution SLR™ DCB is not just safe and feasible, but also seems to be associated with a low rate of MACE at 1-year follow-up. Our promising results warrant further evaluation in a dedicated comparative trial

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Electrochemical Release Testing of Nickel-Titanium Orthodontic Wires in Artificial Saliva Using Thin Layer Activation

Alloys based on Ni–Ti intermetallics generally exhibit special shape memory and pseudoelastic properties, which make them desirable for use in the dental field as orthodontic wires. The possibility of nickel release from these materials is of high concern, because the allergenicity of this element. The aim of this study was to test pseudoelastic Ni–Ti wires in simulated physiological conditions, investigating the combined effect of strain and fluoridated media: the wires were examined both under strained (5% tensile strain) and unstrained conditions, in fluoridated artificial saliva at 37 °C. Real time electrochemical nickel release testing was performed using a novel application of a radiotracer based method, thin layer activation (TLA). TLA was validated, in unstrained conditions, against adsorptive stripping voltammetry methodology. Control tests were also performed in non-fluoridated artificial saliva. From our research it transpired that the corrosion behaviour of Ni–Ti alloy is highly affected by the fluoride content, showing a release of 4.79 ± 0.10 μg/cm2/day, but, differently from other biomaterials, it does not seem to be affected by elastic tensile strain. The application of the TLA method in the biomedical field appears a suitable technique to monitor in real time the corrosion behaviour of biomedical devices.JRC.I.4-Nanotechnology and Molecular Imagin

Sensing nanoparticle-protein corona using nanoparticle enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy signal enhancement

Recently nanoparticle enhanced Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (NELIBS) is getting a growing interest as an effective alternative method for improving the analytical performance of LIBS. On the other hand, the plasmonic effect during laser ablation can be used for a different task rather than elemental analysis. In this paper, the dependence of NELIBS emission signal enhancement on nanoparticle-protein solutions dried on a reference substrate (metallic titanium) was investigated. Two proteins were studied: Human Serum Albumin (HSA) and Cytochrome C (CytC). Both proteins have a strong affinity for the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) due to the bonding between the single free exterior thiol (associated with a cysteine residue) and the gold surface to form a stable protein corona. Then, since the protein sizes are vastly different, a different number of protein units is needed to cover AuNP surface to form a protein layer. The NP-protein solution was dropped and dried onto the titanium substrate. Then the NELIBS signal enhancement of Ti emission lines was correlated to the solution characteristics as determined with Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and Laser Doppler Electrophoresis (LDE) for ζ-potential determination. Moreover, the dried solutions were studied with TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) for the inspection of the inter-particle distance. The structural effect of the NP-protein conjugates on the NELIBS signal reveals that NELIBS can be used to determine the number of protein units required to form the nanoparticle-protein corona with good accuracy. Although the investigated NP-protein systems are simple cases in biological applications, this work demonstrates, for the first time, a different use of NELIBS that is beyond elemental analysis and it opens the way for sensing the nanoparticle protein corona

LCG POOL development status and production experience

The POOL project, as a part of the LHC Computing Grid (LCG), is now entering its third year of active development POOL provides the baseline persistency framework for three LHC experiment and is based on a strict component model, insulating experiment software from a variety of storage technology choices. This paper gives a brief overview of the POOL architecture, its main design principles and the experience gained with integration into LHC experiment frameworks. In also presents recent developments in the area of relational database abstraction and object storage into RDBMS systems