Experimental evaluation of miniature plate DMAs (mini-plate DMAs) for future ultrafine particle (UFP) sensor network

<p>Two iPhone-sized differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) in the parallel-plate configuration (i.e., mini-plate DMAs) were designed and their performance was calibrated in this study in order to gain the instructive knowledge for the future mini-plate DMA design and to have a well-calibrated mini-plate DMA for the ultrafine particle (UFP) sensor network. The performance of mini-plate DMAs was calibrated using the tandem DMA (TDMA) technique. The experimental transfer functions of prototypes at different particle sizes and under various combinational conditions of aerosol and sheath flow rates were derived from the TDMA data. It is concluded that mini-plate DMAs performed reasonably well for UFP sizing. It was also found that the sizing resolution of mini-plate DMAs is closer to the aerosol-to-sheath flow rate ratio when the percentage of aerosol slit opening in length was increased (relative to the width of aerosol classification zone). A new concept of “effective sheath flow rate” was introduced to better interpret the experimental observation on the area and FWHM (full width at half maximum) data of measured DMA transfer functions. Based on the experimental data, we proposed a modified equation for mini-plate DMAs to better calculate the voltage required to size particles of a given electrical mobility.</p> <p>Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research</p

A Smart, Photocontrollable Drug Release Nanosystem for Multifunctional Synergistic Cancer Therapy

Multifunctional synergistic therapy holds promise in biomedical studies and clinical practice. However, strategies aimed at easily integrating the components of such multimodal therapies are needed. Therefore, we herein report a smart drug release nanosystem able to perform photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy in a photocontrollable manner. Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, and 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis (1-methylpyridinium-4-yl) porphyrin (TMPyP4), a photosensitizer, were physically intercalated into a DNA assembly immobilized on gold nanorods. The drugs were efficiently delivered to target cells and released under light irradiation, resulting in a synergism that combined phototherapy and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. This smart, photocontrollable drug release nanosystem promises precisely controlled drug release for multifunctional synergistic cancer therapy

Protective Effect of C₇₀-Carboxyfullerene against Oxidative-Induced Stress on Postmitotic Muscle Cells

Satellite muscle cells play an important role in regeneration of skeletal muscle. However, they are particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress. Herein, we address our efforts on the cytoprotective activities of carboxyfullerenes with different cage size (C₆₀ vs C₇₀) and adduct number on postmitotic muscle cell (C2C12 cell). The correlation of the structural effect on the cytoprotective capability of carboxyfullerenes was evaluated. We find that quadri-malonic acid C₇₀ fullerene (QF₇₀) exhibits higher capability on protecting cells from oxidative-induced stress among these tested carboxyfullerenes. The accumulation of intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) is proposed to play an important role in their diverse antioxidative ability. Moreover, the pretreatment of QF₇₀ could also obviously enhance the viability of myotubes originated from oxidative-stressed C2C12 cells, which facilitates the future application of carboxyfullerenes in tissue engineering and nanomedicine

Phenotypes of translation blocking morpholino (MO1) knockdown embryos.

<p>(A–B)13-somite stage. (C–E) 24 hpf. (F–H) 48 hpf. (I–J) 72 hpf. (K–N) somite of mylz2-GFP transgenic zebrafish embryos at 48 hpf. (O–P) mylz2-GFP transgenic zebrafish embryos at 7dpf. A, C–D, F–G, I, K, M and O are Atoh8-MO treated embryos: A, C and F show severe abnormality, D, G, I, K, M and O show mild abnormality, and B, E, H, J, L, N and P are control-MO treated embryos. Atoh8-MO-treated embryos show shrunken eyes and head, a curved body axis with indistinct somite boundaries and yolk extension, accompanied by a U-shaped somite formation. In addition, the branchial arches are greatly reduced(O–P). In all panels but P, the dorsal view is up and the anterior is to the left. P shows the ventral view and the anterior to the left. <i>Abbreviations</i>: <i>re, retina; sm, somite; ba</i>, <i>branchial arches</i>.</p

Expression patterns of the zebrafish <i>atoh8</i> gene during morphogenesis.

<p>Lateral view, anterior to the left (A,C,F–K). Top view (B,D). Dorsal view, anterior to the left (E). (A) 70% epiboly. (B) 6-somite. (C–E) 15-somite. (F) 17-somite. (G) 21-somite.(H,M,N) 24 hpf. (I) 36 hpf. (J) 48 hpf. (K) 72 hpf. (L–M)horizontal section of retina from 15-somite to 17-Somite stage embryos. <i>Abbreviations</i>: <i>b, brain</i>; hb, hind brain; <i>lp, lens primordium;ncc,neuron crest cell; op, optic vesicle</i>; <i>re, retina; sm, somite</i>.</p

Fullerene-Induced Increase of Glycosyl Residue on Living Plant Cell Wall

In this work, we have investigated the change of cell wall for the tobacco plant cell (<i>Nicotiana tobacum</i> L. cv. Bright Yellow) under the repression of water-soluble carboxyfullerenes (C₇₀(C­(COOH)₂)_2–4). The adsorption of C₇₀(C­(COOH)₂)_2–4 on cell wall led to the disruption of cell wall and membrane, and consequently, cell growth inhibition. Results from atomic force microscopy (AFM) force measurement and confocal imaging revealed an increase of the glycosyl residue on the cell wall of carboxyfullerene-treated cells, with a time- and dose-dependent manner, and accompanied by the elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, the stimulation-sensitive alteration of glycosyl residue and ROS was demonstrated, which suggested a possible protection strategy for the plant cells under fullerene repression. This study provides the first direct evidence on the change of plant cell wall composition under the repression of fullerene and is the first successful application of AFM ligand-receptor binding force measurement to the living plant cell. The new information present here would help to a better understanding and assessment of the biological effect of fullerenes on plant

Percentages of abnormal embryos in morpholino treated with or without co-expression of exogenous Atoh8 mRNA.

<p>A: Percentages of abnormal animals with mild or severe phenotypes following the injection of 4 ng or 8 ng morpholinos. MO1-M and MO1-S, percentages of animals with mild and severe phenotypes followed injection with translation blocking morpholino MO1 (total injected n = 169 for 4 ng MO1 and n = 182 for 8 ng MO1), respectively. MO2-M and MO2-S, percentages of animals with mild and severe phenotypes followed injection with splicing blocking morpholino MO2 (total injected n = 173 for 4 ng MO2 and n = 192 for 8 ng MO2), respectively. MIS-MO, morpholino with mismatched sequences (n = 154 for MIS-MO1, and n = 114 for MIS-MO2, 8 ng each). The data were shown by the averages of three independent experiments for each group. B. Overexpression of <i>atoh8</i> mRNA prevents the severe form of developmental defect in splicing blocking morpholino (MO2) injected embryos (n = 140 for MO2 rescue and n = 192 for MO2 alone, respectively). Two-tail Student t test, * p<0.05, ** p<0.0001.</p

Retinal development is disrupted in Atoh8 knockdown embryos.

<p>(A–B) 15-Somite stage; (C–D,G–H) 48 hpf; (E–F) 36 hpf, (A,C,E,G) morphant and (B,D,F,H) control. Staining of <i>pax6a</i> showed that retinal region was remarkably reduced (arrow) in this MO-treated embryo. A<i>toh5</i> expression was present throughout most of the neural retinal at 36 hpf in the control embryo(E) while present only in dorsal and temporal retina in the MO-treated embryo(F). By 48 hpf, atoh5 localized throughout retina ganglion cells in the control(G) but present only in ventral retina in the MO-treated embryo(H). In addition, the signals of these two genes were much weaker than those of the control, indicating that knock-down of Atoh8 may have influenced retinal organization. In all panels, the dorsal side is up and the anterior is to the left.</p

Transverse sections of Atoh8-MO treated embryo retina.

<p>(A,C) Control eyes at 3dpf and 7dpf, respectively. (B,D) Eyes of MO-treated fish at 3dpf and 7dpf, respectively. The section shows that the retina did not develop normal neuronal stratification compared with the control at 3dpf. By 7pdf, lamination had formed in the treated embryos, however, the retinal size was remarkably reduced (D), and the number of retinal ganglion neurons was significantly reduced in MO fish (E). (p<0.001). Besides, the photoreceptor layer of the morphant was less elongated. In all panels, the ventral is down.</p

Absence of Atoh8 affects the myogenic differentiation of skeletal muscle.

<p>(A–B) transverse section of somites at 3dpf and (C–D) transferse section of somites at 7dpf. (A,C) somites of Atoh8-treated embryos; (B,D) the related controls. Note that the transverse myoseptum of MO-treated embryos is ill-defined and incomplete and that the somites form a U-shape or even appear cuboidal. Somites in controls, on the other hand, are chevron shaped with a distinct somite boundary. In addition, differentiated muscle fibers in myotomes show a less compact and orderly looking arrangement in the morphant.</p