Explorer 14 Magnetron Sputterer (PVD-05) Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure for the Explorer 14 Magnetron Sputterer (PVD-05) located at the Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility within the Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvaniahttps://repository.upenn.edu/scn_sop/1025/thumbnail.jp

In vitro removal of anti-infective agents by a novel cytokine adsorbent system

The aim of this study is to describe the in vitro adsorption of anti-infective drugs onto an extracorporeal cytokine adsorber.Various anti-infective drugs (β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, glycopeptides, azole antimycotics) were prepared in normal saline 0.9% and human albumin 5%, and pumped through a cytokine cartridge (CytoSorb; CytoSorbents Corporation, Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA) at a flow rate of 1.2 L/h for 1.5 h. In addition, meropenem and ciprofloxacin were dissolved in reconstituted blood and run through a CytoSorb cartridge, which was integrated into a continuous renal replacement therapy circuit with a flow rate of 2 L/h for 18 h. Samples from the solution, pre- and post-filter, were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and fluorescence polarisation immunoassay.Observed mean clearance of the drugs in normal saline was 1.22 ± 0.07 L/h. In human albumin, clearance was 1.29 ± 0.08 L/h. In reconstituted blood, clearance of meropenem decreased from 5.4 to 1.4 L/h and for ciprofloxacin from 6.3 to 4.3 L/h within the first 1.5 h because of early drug adsorption. Continuous renal replacement therapy clearance measured without CytoSorb was stable at 2 and 1.7 L/h, respectively. Approximately 400 mg of meropenem and 300 mg of ciprofloxacin had been adsorbed by CytoSorb, suggesting that these amounts are the maximum adsorptive capacity for these drugs.In these settings, all tested drugs were adsorbed by the cartridge in relevant amounts. The identified maximum adsorptive capacity and the rapid decline in concentration during the first 1.5 h of CytoSorb use suggest that the administration of an additional dose within the first hours of CytoSorb treatment may be reasonable. In addition, early therapeutic drug monitoring should be considered

Therapeutic drug monitoring-guided continuous infusion of piperacillin/tazobactam significantly improves pharmacokinetic target attainment in critically ill patients: a retrospective analysis of four years of clinical experience

Purpose: Standard dosing and intermittent bolus application (IB) are important risk factors for pharmacokinetic (PK) target non-attainment during empirical treatment with β-lactams in critically ill patients, particularly in those with sepsis and septic shock. We assessed the effect of therapeutic drug monitoring-guided (TDM), continuous infusion (CI) and individual dosing of piperacillin/tazobactam (PIP) on PK-target attainment in critically ill patients. Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center analysis of a database including 484 patients [933 serum concentrations (SC)] with severe infections, sepsis and septic shock who received TDM-guided CI of PIP in the intensive care unit (ICU) of an academic teaching hospital. The PK-target was defined as a PIP SC between 33 and 64\ua0mg/L [fT > 2–4 times the epidemiological cutoff value (ECOFF) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PSA)]. Results: PK-target attainment with standard dosing (initial dose) was observed in 166 patients (34.3%), whereas only 49 patients (10.1%) demonstrated target non-attainment. The minimum PK-target of ≥ 33\ua0mg/L was overall realized in 89.9% (n = 435/484) of patients after the first PIP dose including 146 patients (30.2%) with potentially harmful SCs ≥ 100\ua0mg/L. Subsequent TDM-guided dose adjustments significantly enhanced PK-target attainment to 280 patients (62.4%) and significantly reduced the fraction of potentially overdosed (≥ 100\ua0mg/L) patients to 4.5% (n = 20/449). Renal replacement therapy (RRT) resulted in a relevant reduction of PIP clearance (CL): no RRT CL 6.8/6.3 L/h (median/IQR) [SCs n = 752, patients n = 405], continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CVVHD) CL 4.3/2.6 L/h [SCs n = 160, n = 71 patients], intermittent hemodialysis (iHD) CL 2.6/2.3 L/h [SCs n = 21, n = 8 patients]). A body mass index (BMI) of > 40\ua0kg/m significantly increased CL 9.6/7.7 L/h [SC n = 43, n = 18 patients] in these patients. Age was significantly associated with supratherapeutic PIP concentrations (p < 0.0005), whereas high CrCL led\ua0to non-target attainment (p < 0.0005). Patients with target attainment (33–64\ua0mg/L) within the first 24\ua0h exhibited the lowest hospital mortality rates (13.9% [n = 23/166], p < 0.005). Those with target non-attainment demonstrated higher mortality rates (≤ 32\ua0mg/L; 20.8% [n = 10/49] ≥ 64\ua0mg/L; 29.4% [n = 79/269]). Conclusion: TDM-guided CI of PIP is safe in critically ill patients and improves PK-target attainment. Exposure to defined PK-targets impacts patient mortality while lower and higher than intended SCs may influence the outcome of critically ill patients. Renal function and renal replacement therapy are main determinants of PK-target attainment. These results are only valid for CI of PIP and not for prolonged or intermittent bolus administration of PIP

Worldwide outdoor round robin study of organic photovoltaic devices and modules

Accurate characterization and reporting of organic photovoltaic (OPV) device performance remains one of the important challenges in the field. The large spread among the efficiencies of devices with the same structure reported by different groups is significantly caused by different procedures and equipment used during testing. The presented article addresses this issue by offering a new method of device testing using “suitcase sample” approach combined with outdoor testing that limits the diversity of the equipment, and a strict measurement protocol. A round robin outdoor characterization of roll-to-roll coated OPV cells and modules conducted among 46 laboratories worldwide is presented, where the samples and the testing equipment were integrated in a compact suitcase that served both as a sample transportation tool and as a holder and test equipment during testing. In addition, an internet based coordination was used via plasticphotovoltaics.org that allowed fast and efficient communication among participants and provided a controlled reporting format for the results that eased the analysis of the data. The reported deviations among the laboratories were limited to 5% when compared to the Si reference device integrated in the suitcase and were up to 8% when calculated using the local irradiance data. Therefore, this method offers a fast, cheap and efficient tool for sample sharing and testing that allows conducting outdoor measurements of OPV devices in a reproducible manner