Congenital Diaphragmatic hernia – a review

Congenital Diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a condition characterized by a defect in the diaphragm leading to protrusion of abdominal contents into the thoracic cavity interfering with normal development of the lungs. The defect may range from a small aperture in the posterior muscle rim to complete absence of diaphragm. The pathophysiology of CDH is a combination of lung hypoplasia and immaturity associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn (PPHN) and cardiac dysfunction. Prenatal assessment of lung to head ratio (LHR) and position of the liver by ultrasound are used to diagnose and predict outcomes. Delivery of infants with CDH is recommended close to term gestation. Immediate management at birth includes bowel decompression, avoidance of mask ventilation and endotracheal tube placement if required. The main focus of management includes gentle ventilation, hemodynamic monitoring and treatment of pulmonary hypertension followed by surgery. Although inhaled nitric oxide is not approved by FDA for the treatment of PPHN induced by CDH, it is commonly used. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is typically considered after failure of conventional medical management for infants ≥ 34 weeks’ gestation or with weight >2 kg with CDH and no associated major lethal anomalies. Multiple factors such as prematurity, associated abnormalities, severity of PPHN, type of repair and need for ECMO can affect the survival of an infant with CDH. With advances in the management of CDH, the overall survival has improved and has been reported to be 70-90% in non-ECMO infants and up to 50% in infants who undergo ECMO

Rhoeo discolor leaf extract as a novel immobilizing matrix for the fabrication of an electrochemical glucose and hydrogen peroxide biosensor

A novel natural immobilizing matrix for the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is presented in this article. The electrochemical biosensor was constructed by immobilizing the enzymes on Rhoeo discolor (Rd) leaf extract with 2.5% glutaraldehyde (GLD) on functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) modified graphite (Gr) electrode. The Gr/f-MWCNTs/(Rd-GLD)/GOx and Gr/f-MWCNTs/(Rd-GLD)/HRP biosensors showed excellent electrocatalytic activity concerning the detection of glucose and hydrogen peroxide. The physical morphology of the biosensors was studied using SEM and EDX. The electrochemical performance of the proposed biosensors was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The effects of experimental variables such as pH, temperature, and applied potential on the current response of the biosensors were studied and optimized. The Gr/f-MWCNTs/(Rd-GLD)/GOx biosensor exhibited a rapid response time of less than 5 s, displayed a wide linear range of 0.5 to 28.5 mM, showed a low detection limit of 0.16 μM and revealed a high sensitivity of 15 μA mM-1 cm-2 for glucose. Similarly the Gr/f-MWCNTs/(Rd-GLD)/HRP biosensor showed a fast response time of 3 s, a good linear range of 0.2 to 6.8 mM with a 0.01 μM detection limit and an exceptional sensitivity of 2.1 mA mM-1 cm-2 for hydrogen peroxide. Subsequently, the practical applicability of the glucose biosensor for the analysis of glucose in Eleusine coracana wine and tender coconut water was examined while the Gr/f-MWCNTs/(Rd-GLD)/HRP modified electrode was tested for the determination of H2O2 in herbal bleach. In addition, the biosensors displayed long term stability, anti-interference ability and good reproducibility. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Development of a simple bioelectrode for the electrochemical detection of hydrogen peroxide using Pichia pastoris catalase immobilized on gold nanoparticle nanotubes and polythiophene hybrid

In this paper, a simple and innovative electrochemical hydrogen peroxide biosensor has been proposed using catalase (CATpp) derived from Pichia pastoris as bioelectrocatalyst. The model biocomponent was immobilized on gold nanoparticle nanotubes (AuNPNTs) and polythiophene composite using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide (EDC-NHS) coupling reagent. In this present work, we have successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by ultrasonic irradiation. The tubular gold nanostructures containing coalesced AuNPs were obtained by sacrificial template synthesis. The assembly of AuNPNTs onto the graphite (Gr) electrode was achieved via S-Au chemisorption. The latter was pre-coated with electropolymerized thiophene (PTh) to enable S groups to bind AuNPNTs. The combination of AuNPNTs-PTh, i.e., an inorganic-organic hybrid, provides a stable enzyme immobilization platform. The physical morphology of the fabricated biosensor Gr/PTh/AuNPNTs/EDC-NHS/CATpp was investigated using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive microscopy. The analytical performance of the bioelectrode was examined using cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Operational parameters such as working potential, pH, and thermal stability of the modified electrode were examined. The beneficial analytical characteristics of the proposed electrode were demonstrated. Our results indicate that the Gr/PTh/AuNPNTs/EDC-NHS/CATpp bioelectrode exhibits a wide linear range from 0.05 mM to 18.5 mM of H2O2, fast response time of 7 s, excellent sensitivity of 26.2 mA mM-1 cm-2, good detection limit of 0.12 μM and good Michaelis-Menten constant of 1.4 mM. In addition, the bioelectrode displayed good repeatability, high stability and acceptable reproducibility, which can be attributed to the AuNPNTs-PTh composite that provides a biocompatible micro-environment. © the Partner Organisations 2014.

Synthesis of one-dimensional gold nanostructures and the electrochemical application of the nanohybrid containing functionalized graphene oxide for cholesterol biosensing

This manuscript reports a new approach for the synthesis of one dimensional gold nanostructure (AuNs) and its application in the development of cholesterol biosensor. Au nanostructures have been synthesized by exploiting β-diphenylalanine (β-FF) as an sacrificial template, whereas the Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized by ultrasound irradiation. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) have been employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the prepared samples. With the aim to develop a highly sensitive cholesterol biosensor, cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) was immobilized on AuNs which were appended on the graphite (Gr) electrode via chemisorption onto thiol-functionalized graphene oxide (GO-SH). This Gr/GO-SH/AuNs/ChOx biosensor has been characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. CV results indicated a direct electron transfer between the enzyme and the electrode surface. A new potentiostat intermitant titration technique (PITT) has been studied to determine the diffusion coefficient and maxima potential value. The proposed biosensor showed rapid response, high sensitivity, wide linear range and low detection limit. Furthermore, our AuNs modified electrode showed excellent selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility and long term stability. The proposed electrode has also been used successfully to determine cholesterol in serum samples. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Induction of hyperthyroidism in mice by intradermal immunization with DNA encoding the thyrotropin receptor

Intramuscular injection with plasmid DNA encoding the human thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) has been known to elicit symptoms of Graves’ disease (GD) in outbred but not inbred mice. In this study, we have examined, firstly, whether intradermal (i.d.) injection of TSHR DNA can induce hyperthyroidism in BALB/c mice and, secondly, whether coinjection of TSHR- and cytokine-producing plasmids can influence the outcome of disease. Animals were i.d. challenged at 0, 3 and 6 weeks with TSHR DNA and the immune response was assessed at the end of the 8th or 10th week. In two experiments, a total of 10 (67%) of 15 mice developed TSHR-specific antibodies as assessed by flow cytometry. Of these, 4 (27%) mice had elevated thyroxine (TT4) levels and goitrous thyroids with activated follicular epithelial cells but no evidence of lymphocytic infiltration. At 10 weeks, thyroid-stimulating antibodies (TSAb) were detected in two out of the four hyperthyroid animals. Interestingly, in mice that received a coinjection of TSHR- and IL-2- or IL-4-producing plasmids, there was no production of TSAbs and no evidence of hyperthyroidism. On the other hand, coinjection of DNA plasmids encoding TSHR and IL-12 did not significantly enhance GD development since two out of seven animals became thyrotoxic, but had no goitre. These results demonstrate that i.d. delivery of human TSHR DNA can break tolerance and elicit GD in inbred mice. The data do not support the notion that TSAb production is Th2-dependent in murine GD but they also suggest that codelivery of TSHR and Th1-promoting IL-12 genes may not be sufficient to enhance disease incidence and/or severity in this model