Synthesis, Self-Assembly and In Vitro Cellular Uptake Kinetics of Nanosized Drug Carriers Based on Aggregates of Amphiphilic Oligomers of N-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidone

Development of nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems is a major breakthrough in pharmacology, promising targeted delivery and reduction in drug toxicity. On the cellular level, encapsulation of a drug substantially affects the endocytic processes due to nanocarrier–membrane interaction. In this study we synthesized and characterized nanocarriers assembled from amphiphilic oligomers of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone with a terminal thiooctadecyl group (PVP-OD). It was found that the dissolution free energy of PVP-OD depends linearly on the molecular mass of its hydrophilic part up to [Formula: see text] = 2 × 10(4), leading to an exponential dependence of critical aggregation concentration (CAC) on the molar mass. A model hydrophobic compound (DiI dye) was loaded into the nanocarriers and exhibited slow release into the aqueous phase on a scale of 18 h. Cellular uptake of the loaded nanocarriers and that of free DiI were compared in vitro using glioblastoma (U87) and fibroblast (CRL2429) cells. While the uptake of both DiI/PVP-OD nanocarriers and free DiI was inhibited by dynasore, indicating a dynamin-dependent endocytic pathway as a major mechanism, a decrease in the uptake rate of free DiI was observed in the presence of wortmannin. This suggests that while macropinocytosis plays a role in the uptake of low-molecular components, this pathway might be circumvented by incorporation of DiI into nanocarriers

Investigation of the Behavior of Hydrogen in the Aluminum Alloy in the Manufacture of Small Pigs at the Aluminum Plant UC RUSAL

В статье приведены результаты исследований динамики насыщения алюминия и его сплавов водородом в технологической схеме от алюминиевого электролизера до литейного конвейера в условиях Саяногорского алюминиевого завода ОК РУСАЛ. Показано, что одним из основных источников насыщения расплава алюминия водородом является его взаимодействие с влагой воздуха при открытых переливах металла в процессе его движения от электролизера до литейного конвейера. По результатам обследования предложены технические решения, направленные на снижение концентрации водорода в расплаве, которые составят предмет дальнейших исследованийThe results of studies of aluminum saturation dynamics and its alloys with hydrogen in the technological scheme of the electrolytic aluminum to the casting assembly line in a steel plant RUSAL. It was shown that one of the basic aluminum melt saturation hydrogen source is its interaction with moisture of air in open metal modulations during its movement from the electrolyzer molds. According to a survey of proposed technical solutions to reduce the hydrogen concentration in the melt during further investigation

The Physics of the B Factories

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C

In Vitro Assessment of Poly-N-Vinylpyrrolidone/Acrylic Acid Nanoparticles Biocompatibility in a Microvascular Endothelium Model

An amphiphilic copolymer of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone and acrylic acid—namely, p(VP-AA)-OD6000 (p(VP-AA))—was synthesized to prepare p(VP-AA) nanoparticles (NPs). Furthermore, the copolymer was linked with CFSE, and the so-prepared nanoparticles were loaded with the DiI dye to form D nanoparticles (DNPs). In this study, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence microscopy, immunofluorescence, and confocal microscopy, DNPs were readily taken up by human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Upon uptake, both the CFSE dye (green stain) and the DiI dye (red stain) were localized to the cytoplasm of treated cells. Treatment with p(VP-AA) did not affect the viability of normal and challenged with LPS, HMEC-1 cells at 0.010 mg/mL and induced a dose-dependent decrease of these cells’ viability at the higher concentrations of 0.033 and 0.066 mg/mL (p ≤ 0.01; p ≤ 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, we focused on the potential immunological activation of HMEC-1 endothelial cells upon p(VP-AA) NPs treatment by assessing the expression of adhesion molecules (E-Selectin, ICAM-1, and V-CAM). NPs treatments at concentrations utilized (p = NS) did not affect individual adhesion molecules’ expression. p(VP-AA) NPs do not activate the endothelium and do not affect its viability at pharmacologically relevant concentrations