Comparison of the Effect of Three Types of Iron Drops on Surface Roughness of Deciduous Teeth in a Simulated Cariogenic Environment

Objective: Iron deficiency anemia is among the most common types of childhood anemia. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 5 billion people were suffering from iron deficiency anemia worldwide in 2001. Aside from causing anemia, iron deficiency can negatively affect the physical and mental development of children and adolescents. Several studies have discussed the consequences of inadequate iron intake among which we may name changes in deciduous teeth. Considering the importance of iron supplementation, the present in-vitro study aimed at assessing the surface roughness of deciduous teeth following exposure to three different iron drops.Methods: This in-vitro experimental study was conducted on 90 sound anterior deciduous teeth that were divided into 6 groups. After surface preparation, the teeth were placed in cariogenic environment. Different ferrous sulfate compounds were added to 4 media and the remaining two groups were  considered as positive and negative controls. Fourteen days later, the specimens were removed from the media, sectioned labiolingually, polished and enamel and dentin microhardness were evaluated. The  mean microhardness value for the 15 specimens in each group was recorded. ANOVA was applied for comparison of data and LSD test was used for multiple comparisons.Results: No statistically significant differences were found in enamel microhardness of the 6 understudy groups. The mean microhardness of dentin was significantly different in the three understudy depths. Dentin microhardness immediately below the DEJ, at 250 Mm distance from the DEJ and at 450 Mm distance from the DEJ was (kgf/m2) 68.72 (10.00), 67.75 (8.75) and 68.75 (11.86) in group 1, 69.22(12.46), 73.06 (9.36) and 69.29 (8.01) in group 2, 68.533 (12.27), 64.63 (10.64) and 69.64 (10.15) ingroup 3, 83.033 (11.22), 71.68 (16.01) and 70.88 (17.60) in group 4, 60.080 (9.83), 63.52 (14.46) and65.49 (11.20) in group 5 and 91.91 (43.76), 88.62 (20.47) and 85.04 (26.56) in group 6 (p=0.001 for all three), respectively. Pair-wise comparison of groups revealed that the mentioned difference is due to the statistically significant differences between group 6 and other groups and the remaining groups were not significantly different.Conclusion: This study showed that iron supplementation had no effect on demineralization of tooth structure

Data on cell growth inhibition induced by anti-VEGF siRNA delivered by Stealth liposomes incorporating G2 PAMAM-cholesterol versus Metafectene® as a function of exposure time and siRNA concentration

AbstractIn this data article, carboxyfluorescein-loaded liposomes were prepared and purified from free carboxyfluorescein using gel filtration chromatography in the first part. In the next part, following preparation of anti-VEGF siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobically modified G2 PAMAM dendrimer (G2-Chol40%) (Golkar et al., 2016) [1], the cell growth inhibition induced by the formulations (siRNA/Metafectene complexes and siRNA loaded liposomes incorporating hydrophobic G2) was evaluated at two exposure times through MTT assay in a breast cancer cell (SKBR-3) and compared by two-way ANOVA

A Histological Comparison of a New Pulp Capping Material and Mineral Trioxide Aggregate in Rat Molars

Introduction: Recent investigations have attempted to improve regenerative endodontics with the help of stem cell therapy. In vitro studies have shown the ability of different agents to stimulate the differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) into odontoblast-like cells. A combination of dexamethasone, β-glycerophosphate and Vitamin D has been proven to induce a successful differentiation. The aim of this animal study was to evaluate the effect of this combination, named odontoblastic differentiating material (ODM), on pulp tissue when used as a capping material. Materials and Methods: Sixty maxillary right and left molars of 30 Sprague-dawley rats were selected for this study. The teeth were exposed under sterile condition. Half of the teeth were capped with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and the other half with ODM. All cavities were restored with glass ionomer. The rats were sacrificed at post-operative intervals of 2 weeks and 2 months. Samples were histologically evaluated for the degree of inflammation and reparative dentin formation. Finally the data was analyzed with Mann-Whitney and Chi-Square tests. Results: Reparative dentin formed in all groups within both time periods and there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the mentioned time periods. The MTA group, however, showed a statistically significant reduction in inflammation at both time intervals (P<0.05). Compared to MTA, ODM samples showed a greater amount of inflammation in the pulp tissue. Conclusion: ODM, as a pulp capping material, can induce dentinal bridge formation

Magnetic nano-biocomposite CuFe2O4@methylcellulose (MC) prepared as a new nano-photocatalyst for degradation of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solution

Background: Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin (CIP) are even more important in bacterial resistance, even at low concentrations. The aim of this research was to synthesize CuFe2O4@methylcellulose (MC) as a new nano-photocatalyst for degradation of CIP from aqueous solution. Methods: The nano-photocatalyst (CuFe2O4@MC) was characterized by FESEM, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Powder XRD and EDS analysis confirmed the formation of pure-phase spinel ferrites. After CuFe2O4@MC characterization, the effective parameters in removal efficiency of CIP such as reaction time, initial antibiotic concentration, pH, photocatalyst loading, and degradation kinetic were investigated and conditions were optimized. Then, CIP degradation experiments were conducted on the real sample in the optimal conditions. The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) was determined under optimum conditions. Results: The structural characterization of the magnetic nanobiocomposite showed that it is in nanoscale, ferromagnetic property, and thermal stability. The optimal conditions were obtained at pH = 7, irradiation time (90 minutes), photocatalyst loading (0.2 g), and initial concentration of CIP (3 mg/L). The removal efficiency of CIP in the optimal conditions was obtained as 80.74% and 72.87% from the synthetic and real samples, respectively. The removal of COD was obtained as 68.26% in this process. The evaluation of kinetic linear models showed that the photocatalytic degradation process was fitted by pseudo-first order kinetic model and Langmuir-Hinshelwood. CuFe2O4@MC photocatalyst had a good stability and reusability for the fourth runs. Conclusion: The photocatalytic degradation of CIP from aqueous media with CuFe2O4@MC photocatalyst has a high efficiency, which can be used in the treatment of pharmaceutical wastewaters. Keywords: Spinel, Ciprofloxacin, Methylcellulose, Wastewate

Effect of Helper Lipids on Stability and Transfection Activity of Lyophilized Lipoplex Formulations of Antisense and DOTAP Nanoliposomes: Stability and transfection activity of lyophilized lipoplex formulations

Survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis protein is highly expressed in most cancers and considered as an attractive target for cancer antisense therapy. To vectorize antisense molecules, cationic nanoliposomes are generally used; however, their complexes are too instable, during shelf-life and upon exposure to blood components and extracellular matrix, to be used in-vivo. The present study aimed to develop fresh and lyophilized formulations of antisense/DOTAP nanoliposomes with different helper lipids and compare their shelflife and biologic stabilities and their transfection activities in tumor cell lines. DOTAP nanoliposomes in combination with different helper lipids were prepared in HEPES buffer (20 mM, pH=7.4) by thin-layer hydration followed by thermobarrel extrusion and PTFE membrane filter sterilization. Nanoliposomes were characterized regarding their particle size distribution, final lipid recovery and physical stability. Following antisense loading by direct addition through electrostatic attraction, the degree of complexation was determined by ethidium bromide displacement assay. To stabilize the formulations, they were freezedried with 10% sucrose. The potential of the lyophilized and fresh formulations ofFITC-labeled antisense to transfect different cell lines (SK-BR-3, MCF-7) was studied by flow cytometry. Fresh nanoliposomes of different formulations had a size in range of 50-100 nm. The degree of complex formation with antisense was determined almost 70-80% (N/P ~ 2) which decreased as incubated with either PBS or complete medium and heparin sulfate. Their average sizes significantly changed after preservation for few days at 4 °C.Lyophilization process compromised the particle size distribution and antisense loading efficiency of different formulations except for DOTAP/DOPE (1:1 mole ratio) which didnot change significantly. Both fresh and lyophilized formulations exhibited the highest transfection activity at comparable levels especially in SK-BR-3 cells. As a conclusion, lyophilization process could promote stability and preserve transfection activity of the antisense complexes of DOTAP/DOPE (1:1) nanoliposomes

Recent Advances on Nanotechnology-Based Strategies for Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Coronavirus Infections

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is exponentially spreading across the world, leading to an outbreak of serious viral pneumonia. Antiviral therapies using chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and favipiravir have been approved by several countries to increase the quality of life of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. Currently, several companies are intensively working on the production of coronavirus (CoV) vaccines, resulting in some specific vaccines that have been approved for CoV infections in humans. Nevertheless, efficient and specific prevention, treatment, and diagnosis are urgently required to combat the biological diversity and rapid mutation in CoV infections. Recently, significant attention has devoted to nanoformulation or nanoparticles (NPs) due to their specific features like high surface-to-volume ratio, drug encapsulation abilities, and specific optical properties to remove the complications of applied conventional therapeutic and diagnosis options. In this regard, NPs are increasingly used as new anti-CoV agents, vaccine carriers or adjuvants, and nanoscale biorecognition elements. The present review article provides a comprehensive discussion on the recent updates regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of different CoV infections with an emphasis on the application of NPs in vaccination, treatment, and diagnosis of CoV infections

Strategies for Improving siRNA-Induced Gene Silencing Efficiency

Purpose: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and progression of cancers. Gene silencing of hTERT by short interfering RNA (siRNA) is considered as a promising strategy for cancer gene therapy. Various algorithms have been devised for designing a high efficient siRNA which is a significant issue in the clinical usage. Thereby, in the present study, the relation of siRNA designing criteria and the gene silencing efficiency was evaluated. Methods: The siRNA sequences were designed and characterized by using on line soft wares. Cationic co-polymer (polyethylene glycol-g-polyethylene imine (PEG-g-PEI)) was used for the construction of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) containing siRNAs. The cellular uptake of the PECs was evaluated. The gene silencing efficiency of different siRNA sequences was investigated and the effect of observing the rational designing on the functionality of siRNAs was assessed. Results: The size of PEG-g-PEI siRNA with N/P (Nitrogen/Phosphate) ratio of 2.5 was 114 ± 0.645 nm. The transfection efficiency of PECs was desirable (95.5% ± 2.4%.). The results of Real-Time PCR showed that main sequence (MS) reduced the hTERT expression up to 90% and control positive sequence (CPS) up to 63%. These findings demonstrated that the accessibility to the target site has priority than the other criteria such as sequence preferences and thermodynamic features. Conclusion: siRNA opens a hopeful window in cancer therapy which provides a convenient and tolerable therapeutic approach. Thereby, using the set of criteria and rational algorithms in the designing of siRNA remarkably affect the gene silencing efficiency

Application of rapid and simple liquid chromatography method for determination of bioequivalence of generic lamotrigine tablets in healthy Iranian volunteers

A simple and rapid chromatography method was developed for determination of lamotrigine in human plasma. The method was used to compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of 50 mg generic and the reference lamotrigine (Lamictal) tablets in healthy Iranian volunteers. High performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet method was developed and validated to determine lamotrigine concentration in plasma samples. The method was linear over the range of 0.1 to 15 μg/ml. The accuracy and precision were within the acceptable range. Limits of detection and quantification were calculated 0.06 and 0.10 μg/mL, respectively. A randomized, single-dose, two-period, two-sequence crossover study was carried out in healthy subjects receiving either the test or the reference products in each period. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined using non-compartmental calculations. In vivo bioequivalency between the generic and the reference product was investigated according to the guidance for industry issued by US Food Drug Administration. AUC0-t, AUC0-∞ and Cmax were calculated for the generic product 12.50±2.76 μg.h/mL, 15.04±3.66 μg.h/mL and 0.38±0.08 μg/mL, respectively. The 90% confidence interval for the test/reference ratios were laid in the range of 0.80-1.25 for the log-transformed PK parameters. The generic product is bioequivalent and can be prescribed by practitioners while indicated, however the AUC and Cmax were lower in Iranian population if compared to the literature, which requires further investigations