School-age spirometry in survivors of chronic lung disease of prematurity in the surfactant era

Objective: To assess whether school-age spirometry and lung volume outcomes of preterm infants with history of moderate to severe respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), born in the surfactant era and treated with conventional mechanical ventilation (IMV) and discharged home with or without the diagnosis of BPD (hronic lung disease of prematurity), differ from those of term neonates (controls). Participants: The study included 148 Caucasian school-aged children (38 preterm infants without BPD, 20 preterm infants with BPD and 90 term infants). All infants were born at the Department of Pathology of Pregnancy and Labor, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland. Methods: Respiratory outcome in school-aged children was assessed using spirometry with the evaluation of flow and volume parameters, adjusted for age, weight and gender. The differences in spirometry were tested by the Wilcoxon or Mann-Whitney tests. Linear correlation and regression were also used. Results: No statistically significant differences between the spirometric parameters in preterm infants with and without BPD were found. All investigated parameters were significantly lower in both ventilated groups compared to term controls, with the exception of ERV%, which was significantly higher. Conclusions: The necessity to use assisted ventilation in preterm infants without neurological disorders most probably had an adverse effect on the lung function, assessed by spirometry at the age of 9-10 years, in the groups of children discharged home with or without BPD. Regardless of BPD, lung function parameters in prematurely born children with respiratory distress syndrome are always worse than in term controls

Synthesis and properties of silicon carbonitride layers on polyetheretherketone

Warstwy węgloazotku krzemu posiadają szereg interesujących właściwości, w tym mechanicznych i biologicznych. Jednak synteza tego typu warstw na podłożach polimerowych jest bardzo trudnym zadaniem, ze względu na niską energię powierzchniową polimerów oraz ich wrażliwość na działanie podwyższonych temperatur. W tej pracy pokazujemy, że jest to możliwe poprzez zastosowaniem metody chemicznego osadzania z fazy gazowej ze wspomaganiem plazmy generowanej falami o częstości radiowej (RFPACVD, 13,56 MHz, 400 W). Strukturę otrzymanych warstw analizowano przy użyciu spektroskopii w podczerwieni z transformatą Fouriera (FTIR). Wykazano obecność ugrupowań typu Si-C, Si-N, C-N, C=N, C=C, C=N, Si-H i C-H. Badania tribologiczne i biologiczne pokazały, że warstwa SiCxNy(H) ma dobre właściwości ślizgowe, a otrzymany materiał kompozytowy, podłoże PEEK-warstwa a-C:N:H/SiCxNy(H), charakteryzuje się niższym współczynnikiem tarcia, wyższą odpornością na zużycie oraz lepszą biozgodnością w porównaniu do niemodyfikowanego polieteroeteroketonu. Wysoką adhezję warstwy do podłoża uzyskano poprzez odpowiednie przygotowanie osadzanej powierzchni na drodze trawienia w plazmie argonowej. Trawienie jonowe powoduje bowiem wzrost chropowatości oraz energii powierzchniowej modyfikowanych podłoży. Również wytworzenie warstwy pośredniej, nie zawierającej krzemu (a-C:N:H), przyczyniło się do osiągnięcia wysokiej adhezji pomiędzy warstwą a-SiCxN(H) a polimerowym podłożem.Silicon carbonitride layers have many interesting properties, including mechanical and biological ones. However obtaining such layers on polymeric substrate is very difficult due to low surface energy of polymers and their sensivity to elevated temperatures. In this work it is shown that it is possible by application of plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition, where plasma is generated by radiowaves (RF PACVD, 13.56 MHz, 400 W). The structure of the layers was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The presence of Si-C, Si-N, C-N, C=N, C=C, C=N, Si-H and C-H bonds was shown. Tribological and biological studies revealed that the SiCxNy(H) layer has good sliding properties and obtained composite material PEEK/a-C:N:H/SiCxNy(H) exhibits lower friction coefficient, higher wear resistance and better biocompatibility compared to the unmodified polyetheretherketone. Good adhesion between the layer and the substrate has been achieved by a proper preparation of the substrate surface by subjecting it to the Ar plasma etching. Such pre-treatment caused increasement of surface energy and roughness parameters of modified polymers. Formation of the intermediate carbon nitride layer also contributed to ensuring high adhesion between a-SiCxNy(H) layer and polymeric substrate

Biocompatible glyconanomaterials based on HPMA-copolymer for specific targeting of galectin-3

Abstract Background Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a promising target in cancer therapy with a high therapeutic potential due to its abundant localization within the tumor tissue and its involvement in tumor development and proliferation. Potential clinical application of Gal-3-targeted inhibitors is often complicated by their insufficient selectivity or low biocompatibility. Nanomaterials based on N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) nanocarrier are attractive for in vivo application due to their good water solubility and lack of toxicity and immunogenicity. Their conjugation with tailored carbohydrate ligands can yield specific glyconanomaterials applicable for targeting biomedicinally relevant lectins like Gal-3. Results In the present study we describe the synthesis and the structure-affinity relationship study of novel Gal-3-targeted glyconanomaterials, based on hydrophilic HPMA nanocarriers. HPMA nanocarriers decorated with varying amounts of Gal-3 specific epitope GalNAcβ1,4GlcNAc (LacdiNAc) were analyzed in a competitive ELISA-type assay and their binding kinetics was described by surface plasmon resonance. We showed the impact of various linker types and epitope distribution on the binding affinity to Gal-3. The synthesis of specific functionalized LacdiNAc epitopes was accomplished under the catalysis by mutant β-N-acetylhexosaminidases. The glycans were conjugated to statistic HPMA copolymer precursors through diverse linkers in a defined pattern and density using Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition. The resulting water-soluble and structurally flexible synthetic glyconanomaterials exhibited affinity to Gal-3 in low μM range. Conclusions The results of this study reveal the relation between the linker structure, glycan distribution and the affinity of the glycopolymer nanomaterial to Gal-3. They pave the way to specific biomedicinal glyconanomaterials that target Gal-3 as a therapeutic goal in cancerogenesis and other disorders