BACKGROUND Recruitment and retention of human participants in cancer clinical trials remains challenging for all investigators. Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are in a prime position to discuss, educate and refer patients to clinical trials as many NPs work in ethnically and geographically diverse primary care settings in the U.S., yet they remain an untapped resource. We examined NPs' general attit...

As an engineered nanomaterial, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are used frequently in biological applications and can make contact with human skin. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of ZnO NPs on non-tumorigenic human epidermal keratinocytes, which were used as a test model for this in vitro study, at the epigenetic and molecular levels. Our results showed that ZnO NPs induced...

For targeted gastric carcinoma therapy, hyaluronic acid (HA)-modified layer-by-layer nanoparticles (NPs) are applied for improving anticancer treatment efficacy and reducing toxicity and side effects. The aim of this study was to develop HA-modified NPs for the co-loading of irinotecan (IRN) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). A novel polymer-chitosan (CH)-HA hybrid formulation (HA-CH-IRN/5-FU NPs) cons...

Neuropeptide S (NPS) is an endogenous peptide that exerts wakefulness promoting, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects when administered exogenously. However, it remains to be determined if endogenous NPS tone is involved in the control of the diurnal sleep-wake cycle, or spontanous behavior. In this study, we examined the effects of the NPS receptor antagonist [D-Cys((t)Bu)(5)]NPS (2 and 20 nmol, ...

Prevention of hair cell death is an important target for the prevention of hearing loss. Here, we report the engineering of biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) decorated with triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cations as a robust mitochondrial delivery platform, with the aim of preserving mitochondrial integrity and shutting off the initiation of cell death. Geranylgera...

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a highly specific anticancer treatment modality for various cancers, particularly for recurrent cancers that no longer respond to conventional anticancer therapies. PDT has been under development for decades, but light-associated toxicity limits its clinical applications. To reduce the toxicity of PDT, we recently developed a targeted nanoparticle (NP) platform tha...

The need for new innovative treatments has led to the increase in nanoparticle (NP) research. NPs can improve treatment through drug delivery, cellular imaging and gene therapy. To properly use NPs for treatment, it is important to understand how NPs interact with the cellular environment. Recent research was done that compared cellular binding on cationic and anionic polystyrene NPs [1]. The r...

Neuropeptide S (NPS) increasingly emerges as a potential novel treatment option for anxiety diseases like panic and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the neural underpinnings of its anxiolytic action are still not clearly understood. Recently, we reported that neurons of the ventral hippocampus (VH) take up intranasally administered fluorophore-conjugated NPS and, moreover, that applicati...

BACKGROUND Nanoparticles (NPs) possess several advantages as a carrier system for intracellular delivery of therapeutic agents. Rapamycin is an immunosuppressive agent which also exhibits marked antiproliferative properties. We investigated whether rapamycin-loaded NPs can reduce neointima formation of vein graft disease in a rat model. METHODS Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs-contain...