Surfactant Mixtures: Performances vs. Aggregation States

Surfactants, Mixtures, interaction

Stabilization of Food Colloids: The Role of Electrostatic and Steric Forces

The role that some forces exert on food colloid stability is discussed. The focus is on the combination of different energy terms, determining particle-particle attraction or repulsion. The forces are relevant in dispersion stabilization and macroscopic phase separation. The observed features depend on the energies at work and colloid concentration. Examples deal with food manipulations giving cheese, yogurt, and mayonnaise. All products result from the overlapping of forces jointly leading to aggregation or phase separation in foods. The combination of attractive, van der Waals (vdW), and repulsive, double-layer (DL) forces results in the dominance of aggregation or dispersion modes, depending on the particle concentration, on the force amplitude, and on their decay length. DL and vdW forces are at the basis of Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory on colloid stability. That approach is modified when these forces, jointly operating in bio-based colloids, overlap with steric stabilization and depletion modes. Steric effects can be strongly dispersive even at high ionic strength, despite this is rather counterintuitive, when depletion ones favor the nucleation in a single phase

Colloid Stability Influences on the Biological Organization and Functions

It is common to entities having sizes in the nano/micro-scale range be that, real or bio-intended systems, to undergo the action of many different forces, imparting them colloid stability. Ubiquitary electrostatic contributions, sometimes dominant, may overlap with steric stabilization ones; their combination effectively takes place in most cases. The two effects are jointly responsible, for instance, for the control of many phenomena such as: adhesion onto cells of alien agents, cellular separation during morpho-functional evolution, uptake of exogenous materials into cells and tissues. We evidence here, how the combination of these forces operates, and indicate the procedures leading to their effectiveness, when required for purposes inherent to biomimicry

Resveratrol exhibits a strong cytotoxic activity in cultured cells and has an antiviral action against polyomavirus: potential clinical use

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Resveratrol is a non flavonoid polyphenol compound present in many plants and fruits and, at especially high concentrations, in the grape berries of <it>Vitis vinifera</it>. This compound has a strong bioactivity and its cytoprotective action has been demonstrated, however at high concentrations the drug exhibits also an effective anti-proliferative action. We recently showed its ability to abolish the effects of oxidative stress in cultured cells. In this work we assayed the bioactivity of resveratrol as antiproliferative and antiviral drug in cultured fibroblasts. Studies by other Authors showed that this natural compound inhibits the proliferation of different viruses such as herpes simplex, varicella-zoster and influenza A. The results presented here show an evident toxic activity of the drug at high concentrations, on the other hand at sub-cytotoxic concentrations, resveratrol can effectively inhibit the synthesis of polyomavirus DNA. A possible interpretation is that, due to the damage caused by resveratrol to the plasma membrane, the transfer of the virus from the endoplasmic reticulum to the nucleus, may be hindered thus inhibiting the production of viral DNA.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The mouse fibroblast line 3T6 and the human tumor line HL60 were used throughout the work. Cell viability and vital cell count were assessed respectively, by the MTT assay and Trypan Blue staining. Cytotoxic properties and evaluation of viral DNA production by agarose gel electrophoresis were performed according to standard protocols.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results show a clear dose dependent both cytotoxic and antiviral effect of resveratrol respectively at high and low concentrations. The cytotoxic action is exerted towards a stabilized cell-line (3T6) as well as a tumor-line (HL60). Furthermore the antiviral action is evident after the phase of virion entry, therefore data suggest that the drug acts during the synthesis of the viral progeny DNA.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Resveratrol is cytotoxic and inhibits, in a dose dependent fashion, the synthesis of polyomavirus DNA in the infected cell. Furthermore, this inhibition is observed at non cytotoxic concentrations of the drug. Our data imply that cyto-toxicity may be attributed to the membrane damage caused by the drug and that the transfer of polyomavirus from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cytoplasm may be hindered. In conclusion, the cytotoxic and antiviral properties of resveratrol make it a potential candidate for the clinical control of proliferative as well as viral pathologies.</p

Examining the impact of multi-layer graphene using cellular and amphibian models

In the last few years, graphene has been defined as the revolutionary material showing an incredible expansion in industrial applications. Different graphene forms have been applied in several contexts, spreading from energy technologies and electronics to food and agriculture technologies. Graphene showed promises also in the biomedical field. Hopeful results have been already obtained in diagnostic, drug delivery, tissue regeneration and photothermal cancer ablation. In view of the enormous development of graphene-based technologies, a careful assessment of its impact on health and environment is demanded. It is evident how investigating the graphene toxicity is of fundamental importance in the context of medical purposes. Onthe other hand, the nanomaterial present in the environment, likely to be generated all along the industrial life-cycle, may have harmful effects on living organisms. In the present work, an important contribution on the impact of multi-layer graphene (MLG) on health and environment is given by using a multifaceted approach. For the first purpose, the effect of the material on two mammalian cell models was assessed. Key cytotoxicity parameters were considered such as cell viability and inflammatory response induction. This was combined with an evaluation ofMLGtoxicity towards Xenopus laevis, used as both in vivo and environmental model organism

Diameter-dependent release of a cisplatin pro-drug from small and large functionalized carbon nanotubes

The use of platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer therapy still suffers from severe disadvantages, such as lack of appropriate selectivity for tumor tissues and insurgence of multi-drug resistance. Moreover, drug efficacy can be attenuated by several mechanisms such as premature drug inactivation, reduced drug uptake inside cells and increased drug efflux once internalized. The use of functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as chemotherapeutic drug delivery systems is a promising strategy to overcome such limitations due to their ability to enhance cellular internalization of poorly permeable drugs and thus increase the drug bioavailability at the diseased site, compared to the free drug. Furthermore, the possibility to encapsulate agents in the nanotubes’ inner cavity can protect the drug from early inactivation and their external functionalizable surface is useful for selective targeting. In this study, a hydrophobic platinum(IV) complex was encapsulated within the inner space of two different diameter functionalized multi-walled CNTs (Pt(IV)@CNTs). The behavior of the complexes, compared to the free drug, was investigated on both HeLa human cancer cells and RAW 264.7 murine macrophages. Both CNT samples efficiently induced cell death in HeLa cancer cells 72 hours after the end of exposure to CNTs. Although the larger diameter CNTs were more cytotoxic on HeLa cells compared to both the free drug and the smaller diameter nanotubes, the latter allowed a prolonged release of the encapsulated drug, thus increasing its anticancer efficacy. In contrast, both Pt(IV)@CNT constructs were poorly cytotoxic on macrophages and induced negligible cell activation and no pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Both CNT samples were efficiently internalized by the two types of cells, as demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy observations and flow cytometry analysis. Finally, the platinum levels found in the cells after Pt(IV)@CNT exposure demonstrate that they can promote drug accumulation inside cells in comparison with treatment with the free complex. To conclude, our study shows that CNTs are promising nanocarriers to improve the accumulation of a chemotherapeutic drug and its slow release inside tumor cells, by tuning the CNT diameter, without inducing a high inflammatory response

The synthetic inhibitor of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor PD166866 controls negatively the growth of tumor cells in culture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many experimental data evidence that over-expression of various growth factors cause disorders in cell proliferation. The role of the Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGF) in growth control is indisputable: in particular, FGF1 and its tyrosine kinase receptor (FGFR1) act through a very complex network of mechanisms and pathways. In this work we have evaluated the antiproliferative activity effect of PD166866, a synthetic molecule inhibiting the tyrosin kinase action of FGFR1.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cells were routinely grown in Dulbecco Modified Eagle's medium supplemented with newborn serum and a penicillin-streptomycin mixture.</p> <p>Cell viability was evaluated by Mosmann assay and by trypan blue staining. DNA damage was assessed by <it>in situ </it>fluorescent staining with Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL assay).</p> <p>Assessment of oxidative stress at membrane level was measured by quantitative analysis of the intra-cellular formation of malonyl-dialdheyde (MDA) deriving from the decomposition of poly-unsaturated fatty acids.</p> <p>The expression of Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase (PARP), consequent to DNA fragmentation, was evidenced by immuno-histochemistry utilizing an antibody directed against an N-terminal fragment of the enzyme.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The bioactivity of the drug was investigated on Hela cells. Cytoxicity was assessed by the Mosmann assay and by vital staining with trypan blue. The target of the molecule is most likely the cell membrane as shown by the significant increase of the intracellular concentration of malonyl-dihaldheyde. The increase of this compound, as a consequence of the treatment with PD166866, is suggestive of membrane lipoperoxidation. The TUNEL assay gave a qualitative, though clear, indication of DNA damage. Furthermore we demonstrate intracellular accumulation of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase I. This enzyme is a sensor of nicks on the DNA strands and this supports the idea that treatment with the drug induces cell death.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Data presented in this work show that PD166866 has clear antiproliferative effects. The negative control of cell proliferation may be exerted through the activation of the apoptotic pathway. The results of experiments addressing this specific point, such as: evaluation of DNA damage, lipoperoxidation of the cell membrane and increase of expression of PARP, an enzyme directly involved in DNA repair. Results suggest that cells exposed to PD16866 undergo apoptosis. However, concomitant modes of cell death cannot be ruled out. The possible use of this drug for therapeutic purposes is discussed.</p