The “Missing” Link Between Acute Hemodynamic Effect and Clinical Response

The hemodynamic, mechanical and electrical effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) occur immediate and are lasting as long as CRT is delivered. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that acute hemodynamic effects should predict long-term outcome. However, in the literature there is more evidence against than in favour of this idea. This raises the question of what factor(s) do relate to the benefit of CRT. There is increasing evidence that dyssynchrony, presumably through the resultant abnormal local mechanical behaviour, induces extensive remodelling, comprising structure, as well as electrophysiological and contractile processes. Resynchronization has been shown to reverse these processes, even in cases of limited hemodynamic improvement. These data may indicate the need for a paradigm shift in order to achieve maximal long-term CRT response

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe