Biological evaluation of 5-fluorouracil nanoparticles for cancer chemotherapy and its dependence on the carrier, PLGA

Nanoscaled devices have great potential for drug delivery applications due to their small size. In the present study, we report for the first time the preparation and evaluation of antitumor efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-entrapped poly (D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles with dependence on the lactide/glycolide combination of PLGA. 5-FU-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with two different monomer combinations, 50-50 and 90-10 were synthesized using a modified double emulsion method, and their biological evaluation was done in glioma (U87MG) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) cell lines. 5-FU-entrapped PLGA 50-50 nanoparticles showed smaller size with a high encapsulation efficiency of 66%, which was equivalent to that of PLGA 90-10 nanoparticles. Physicochemical characterization of nanoparticles using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction suggested the presence of 5-FU in molecular dispersion form. In vitro release studies showed the prolonged and sustained release of 5-FU from nanoparticles with both the PLGA combinations, where PLGA 50-50 nanoparticles showed faster release. Nanoparticles with PLGA 50-50 combination exhibited better cytotoxicity than free drug in a dose- and time-dependent manner against both the tumor cell lines. The enhanced efficiency of PLGA 50-50 nanoparticles to induce apoptosis was indicated by acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining. Cell cycle perturbations studied using flow cytometer showed better S-phase arrest by nanoparticles in comparison with free 5-FU. All the results indicate that PLGA 50-50 nanoparticles possess better antitumor efficacy than PLGA 90-10 nanoparticles and free 5-FU. Since, studies have shown that long-term exposure of ailing tissues to moderate drug concentrations is more favorable than regular administration of higher concentration of the drug; our results clearly indicate the potential of 5-FU-loaded PLGA nanoparticles with dependence on carrier combination as controlled release formulation to multiplex the therapeutic effect of cancer chemotherapy

So1ar Powered Unmanned Surface Vehic1e for Survei11ance

The unmanned surface vehic1e is more popu1ar because of its 1ow cost, f1exibi1ity and a1so it he1ps to reduce the danger to human beings. In this artic1e we describe measurement of environmenta1 monitoring app1ications using integrated sensors and a1so water ph. 1eve1, enemy monitoring using wire1ess camera. So1ar pane1 is used power the mode1. It can f1oat on the water and can a1so run on the surface of earth using servo motor. Using ESP8266 node MCU can send the data to c1oud

So1ar Powered Unmanned Surface Vehic1e for Survei11ance

The unmanned surface vehic1e is more popu1ar because of its 1ow cost, f1exibi1ity and a1so it he1ps to reduce the danger to human beings. In this artic1e we describe measurement of environmenta1 monitoring app1ications using integrated sensors and a1so water ph. 1eve1, enemy monitoring using wire1ess camera. So1ar pane1 is used power the mode1. It can f1oat on the water and can a1so run on the surface of earth using servo motor. Using ESP8266 node MCU can send the data to c1oud

Chromosomal-level assembly of the Asian Seabass genome using long sequence reads and multi-layered scaffolding

We report here the ~670 Mb genome assembly of the Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer), a tropical marine teleost. We used long-read sequencing augmented by transcriptomics, optical and genetic mapping along with shared synteny from closely related fish species to derive a chromosome-level assembly with a contig N50 size over 1 Mb and scaffold N50 size over 25 Mb that span ~90% of the genome. The population structure of L. calcarifer species complex was analyzed by re-sequencing 61 individuals representing various regions across the species' native range. SNP analyses identified high levels of genetic diversity and confirmed earlier indications of a population stratification comprising three clades with signs of admixture apparent in the South-East Asian population. The quality of the Asian seabass genome assembly far exceeds that of any other fish species, and will serve as a new standard for fish genomics

Self-assembling peptide nanofibers containing phenylalanine for the controlled release of 5-fluorouracil

Narayanan Ashwanikumar,1 Nisha Asok Kumar,2 Padma S Saneesh Babu,2 Krishnankutty C Sivakumar,3 Mithun Varghese Vadakkan,1 Parvathi Nair,1 Ilamathi Hema Saranya,1 Sivakumari Asha Nair,2 Gopalakrishnapillai S Vinod Kumar1 1Chemical Biology, Nano Drug Delivery Systems, Bio-Innovation Center, 2Cancer Research Programme, 3Distributed Information Sub-Centre (Bioinformatics Centre), Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India Abstract: The study shows that RADA-F6 peptide with pH-responsive self-assembling nature can be effectively used as a drug delivery system for the sustained release of a potent anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at basic pH. As 5-FU contains the aromatic pyrimidine ring, RADA-F6 system is suitable for entrapping an aromatic drug due to effective π–π stacking with phenylalanine and be able to show better controlled release behavior. The stability and controlled release nature of RADA-F6 in different conditions followed by 5-FU entrapment at in silico conditions was confirmed by molecular dynamics simulation taking RADA-16 as control. Cytotoxicity of the drug-loaded RADA-F6 was measured by MTT assay and cellular uptake by confocal microscopy. Physicochemical characterization and further Western blot analysis and flow cytometric studies confirm that RADA-F6 can be successfully used as an efficient vector for pH-sensitive, controlled 5-FU delivery system. Keywords: scaffold, drug delivery, nanofibrous, aromati