AIMS To develop and determine the safety of gold nanorods, whose aspect ratios can be tuned to obtain plasmon peaks between 650 and 850 nm, as contrast enhancing agents for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. MATERIALS & METHODS In this study we compared the blood clearance and tissue distribution of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-capped and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated gold...

For systemic injection of cationic liposome/plasmid DNA (pDNA) complexes (cationic lipoplexes), polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modification (PEGylation) of lipoplexes can enhance their systemic stability. In this study, we examined whether intravenous injection of PEGylated cationic lipoplexes into tumor-bearing mice could deliver pDNA into tumor tissues and induce transgene expression. PEGylation o...

Surface PEGylation of nanoparticles designed for biomedical applications is a common and straightforward way to stabilize the materials for in vivo administration and to increase their circulation time. This strategy becomes less trivial when MRI active porous nanomaterials are concerned as their function relies on water/proton-exchange between the pores and bulk water. Here we present a compre...

The coverage density of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is a key parameter in determining the efficiency of PEGylation, a process pivotal to in vivo delivery and targeting of nanomaterials. Here we report four complementary methods for quantifying the coverage density of PEG chains on various types of Au nanostructures by using a model system based on HS-PEG-NH(2) with different molecular weights. ...

The pore domain of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels consists of transmembrane helices S5 and S6, the turret, the pore helix, the selectivity filter, and the loop preceding S6, with a tertiary reentrant structure between S5 and S6. Using biogenic intermediates, mass tagging (pegylation), and a molecular tape measure, we explored the possibility that the first stages of pore formation occur ...

The purpose of this study was to investigate the host response to systemically administered lipid nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulating plasmid DNA (pDNA) in the spleen using a DNA microarray. As a model for NPs, we used a multifunctional envelope-type nano device (MEND). Microarray analysis revealed that 1,581 of the differentially expressed genes could be identified by polyethylene glycol (PEG)-u...

Previous studies in rats and monkeys have shown that b2selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists reduce L-Dopa–induced dyskinesias (LIDs). Because rodent studies also suggested an involvement of a7 nAChRs in LIDs, the authors tested the effect of the potent, selective a7 agonist, ABT-107 [5-(6[(3R)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yloxy] pyridazin-3-yl)-1H-indole]. MPTP (1-methyl-4-ph...

BACKGROUND Radiolabelled bombesin (BN) conjugates are promising radiotracers for imaging and therapy of breast and prostate tumours, in which BN2/gastrin-releasing peptide receptors are overexpressed. We describe the influence of the specific activity of a 177Lu-DOTA-PEG5k-Lys-B analogue on its therapeutic efficacy and compare it with its non-PEGylated counterpart. METHODS Derivatisation of a...

Controlling protein interactions at the implanted electrode interface is becoming an important strategy for the management of foreign body responses that have proven to be detrimental to the long-term performance of neural prosthesis. In this study, PEGylation was conducted on platinum bio-electrodes to render the surface protein-resistant. The PEGylated electrode was investigated using a quart...