The proinflammatory cytokine, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) has been shown to play a pivotal part in mediating acute and chronic inflammation. The activities of TNFalpha are modulated by the proteolytic shedding of the soluble extracellular domains of the two TNF receptors, p55 sTNF-RI and p75 sTNF-RII. Amgen Inc has cloned and expressed a recombinant form of a natural inhibitor of TN...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cytotoxicity of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PEG-PDLLA) nanovesicles loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and the photosensitizer hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME) on human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells and to investigate potential apoptotic mechanisms. METHODS PEG-PDLLA nanovesicles were simultaneously loaded with DOX and HMME (PEG-PDLLA-...

A novel membrane contactor method was used to produce size-controlled poly(ethylene glycol)-b-polycaprolactone (PEG-PCL) copolymer micelles composed of diblock copolymers with different average molecular weights, Mn (9200 or 10,400 Da) and hydrophilic fractions, f (0.67 or 0.59). By injecting 570 L m(-2) h(-1) of the organic phase (a 1 mg mL(-1) solution of PEG-PCL in tetrahydrofuran) through a...

A quantification method to measure endocytosis was designed to assess cellular uptake and specificity of a targeting nanoparticle platform. A simple N -hydroxysuccinimide ester conjugation technique to functionalize 100-nm hollow silica nanoshell particles with fluorescent reporter fluorescein isothiocyanate and folate or polyethylene glycol (PEG) was developed. Functionalized nanoshells were c...

Large solutes such as high molecular weight proteins can be difficult to encapsulate in lipid vesicles. Passive trapping of these macromolecular solutes during vesicle formation typically results in concentrations inside the vesicles that are much lower than in the external solution. Here, we investigated the effect of macromolecular crowding on passive encapsulation of biological macromolecule...

Vitrification of aqueous cryoprotectant mixtures is essential in cryopreservation of proteins and other biological samples. We report systematic measurements of critical cryoprotective agent (CPA) concentrations required for vitrification during plunge cooling from T=295 K to T=77 K in liquid nitrogen. Measurements on fourteen common CPAs including alcohols (glycerol, methanol, isopropanol), su...

A 66-year-old female was referred to a local clinic for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Her family physician started the administration of Peg-IFN alpha2a in combination with ribavirin in September, 2008. Three months after the commencement of the therapy, alopecia was noted, and it gradually worsened. She also complained of general fatigue. Since her alopecia and general fatigue continue...

Background/Aims The present study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of simeprevir-based triple therapy with reduced doses of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin for interferon (IFN) ineligible patients, such as elderly and/or cirrhotic patients, and to elucidate the factors contributing to a sustained virologic response (SVR). Methods One hundred IFN ineligible patients infec...

Protein chips technology has emerged as a promising tool for screening protein-protein interactions and characterizing the levels of proteins expressed in cells. Novel surface technologies must be improved to satisfy the specific protein orientation on the surface without denaturation, retaining non-fouling character of the surface. In order to construct facile immobilization of protein on the ...

UV-induced grafting technique was used as a flexible method for surface modification of Polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration (UF) membranes in order to prepare hydrophilic nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Flat sheet Polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration membranes were prepared via phase inversion method. N-methylene-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) of three different molecular weights (...