Objective To determine whether lymph node-targeted chemotherapy with carbon nanoparticles absorbing 5-FU affects expressions of bcl-2, bax and caspase-3 in gastric cancer tissues, metastatic lymph nodes and normal gastric mucosa. Methods Twenty-eight patients with gastric cancer in our department were divided into lymph node-targeted chemotherapy (LNTC) group and control group from October 2005 to August 2006. The patients were treated with carbon nanoparticles absorbing 5-FU before operation in LNTC group and those were operated directly in control group. The gastric cancer tissues, metastatic lymph nodes and normal gastric mucosa were collected after operation. The expressions of bcl-2, bax and caspase-3 in those tissues were determined by immunohistochemical technique. Results In LNTC group, the positive expression rate of bcl-2 in gastric cancer tissues and metastatic lymph nodes was significantly lower than those in control group (28.6% vs . 78.6% , 25.0% vs . 70.0% , P ＜ 0.05), the positive expression rate of bax (85.7% vs . 28.6% , 80.0% vs . 30.0% ) and caspase-3 (57.1% vs . 14.3% , 55.0% vs . 15.0% ) in gastric cancer tissues and metastatic lymph nodes was significantly higher than those in control group ( P ＜ 0.05). The positive expression rate of bcl-2, bax and caspase-3 in normal gastric mucosa was not significantly different between two groups ( P ＞ 0.05). Conclusion The lymph node-targeted chemotherapy with carbon nanoparticles absorbing 5-FU can down-regulate the expression of bcl-2 and up-regulate the expression of bax and caspase-3 in gastric cancer tissues and metastatic lymph nodes, and therefore by affecting the expression levels of these apoptosis molecules may be one of the ways to induce tumor cell apoptosis.
Abstract： Surgery is an effective therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The standard operation includes lobectomy and systematic dissection of lymph nodes. However, postoperative tumor recurrence is common even among incipient patients due to incomplete dissection of lymph nodes and micrometastasis of lymph nodes. Injecting a carbon nanoparticles suspension is a new technique aimed at preventing this recurrence. The carbon nanoparticles carry lymph node tracers that help surgeons locate lymph nodes in order to clean them thoroughly. The tracers also target the lymph nodes for chemotherapy, thus killing residual tumor cells intraoperatively to avoid postoperative cancer recurrence. Carbon nanoparticles suspension injection is already widely and successfully used in surgery for gastrointestinal and mammary gland tumors, and is being tested for effectiveness in NSCLC patients. Some studies have indicated that carbon nanoparticles suspension injection is effective in NSCLC patients and improves their prognoses. We reviewed the features, application methods, and clinical applications of studies of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection for NSCLC.
Objective To investigate an inhibitive effect of the chitosan nanoparticles with the proliferation cell nuclear antigen （PCNA）-antisense oligo deoxy nucleotides (ASODN) on the intimal cell proliferation after the vein grafting.Methods Fiftyfour male SD rats, weighing 450-600g, were randomly divided in the experimental group and the control group of 27 rats each. In the experimental group, the chitosan nanoparticles with PCNAASODN were infused into the anastomosis segment of the right jugular artery and vein; then, the anastomosis segment was transplanted to the jugular artery on the same side. The rats in the control group were infused with normal saline by the same procedures. There were 24 rats in each group which used to experiment. The hemodynamic data were obtained from the Doppler ultrasound examinations at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. The specimens were taken. Immunohistochemistry, Westernblot, and bloodvesselwall histopathology were performed at the different week points. Results There was no significant difference in the thrombogenesis rate between the experimental group and the control group (3/27 vs. 3/27,P＞0.05). During the 4 week observation, PCNA Westernblot showed that the PCNA level was lower in the grafted vein and the anastomosis segment in the experimental group than in the control group. The indexes of the PCNA postive proliferating cells in the intimal area (0.13%±0.11%，0.79%±0.28%，0.45%±0.29%, 0.43%±0.25%) and the medial area (1.90%± 0.84%，2.11%±0.98%，2.48%±0.77%，2.17%±0.36%) were significantlydecreased at 1,2,3 and 4 weeks in the experimental group when compared with those in the control group（P＜0.05）. The lumen areas in the grafted vein (88.71±16.96，95.98±21.44，88.48±32.81，97.86±34.11 μm 2) and the anastomosis segment (41.49±3.34，45.15±11.65，46.27±8.90，51.62±8.85 μm 2) were significantly greater in the experimental group than in the control group (P＜0.05). The ratios of the initmal area to the medial area in the grafted vein (22.73%±3.11%，32.40%±4.55%，45.14%±3.19%，45.70%±5.01%) and the anastomsis segment (41.49%±3.34%，45.15%±11.65%，46.27%±890%，51.62%±8.85%) were significantly smaller in the experimental group than in the control group（P＜0.05）. The maximum velocities (Vmax) of the blood flow inthe grafted vein and the anastomsis segment were almost the same in the two groups at 1 week, but had different changes at the next 3 weekpoints. In the control group, the Vmax of the blood flow gradually increased and at 3 weeks it reached the peak point; however, at 4 weeks it decreased. In the experimental group,the Vmax of the blood flow gradually decreased, and at 3 weeks it decreased to the lowest point; however, at 4 weeks it increased. So, at 4 weeks the Vmax of the blood flow in the grafted vein and the anastomsis segment was almost the samein the two groups. There was no significant difference in the Vmax of the bloodflow between the two groups (P＞0.05), but in the same group there wasa significant difference at the different time points. Conclusion The chitosan nanoparticles with PCNAASODN can effectively inhibit the intimal cell proliferation after the grafting of the blood vessel, so that the neointimal thickening can be prevented.
Objective To assess the applied significance of carbon nanoparticles in central compartment lymph node dissection in treatment of cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods Sixty-eight patients with cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma who were treated in Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College from May. to Oct. in 2012 were randomly allocated to the control group （n=32） and the carbon nanoparticles trace group （tracer group， n=36）， receiving non-carbon nanoparticles trace and carbon nanoparticles trace respectively. All patients were received total resection of thyroid plus the affected side and （or） contralateral side central compartment lymph node dissection. The lymph node-related indexes（including number of dissected lymph node at Ⅵarea and lymph node metastasis rate at Ⅵarea） and operative indexs （including operation time， blood loss， drainage time， complication， and hospital stay） were collected and compared between the 2 groups. Results There were 205 and 324 dissected lymph node at central compartment in control group and tracer group respectively. The results of postoperative pathology showed that the number of lymph node in central compartment of the tracer group was much more than those of control group （8.99±2.24 vs. 6.41±1.56， P＜0.001）. The metastasis rate of central compartment lymph node were 40.6% （13/32） in control group and 47.2% （17/36） in tracer group， but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups （P=0.762）. But in medial area of laryngeal recurrent nerve， the metastasis rate in the tracer group （38.9%， 14/36） was much higher than those of control group （12.5%， 4/32）， P=0.029. There were no significant differences in the operation time， blood loss， drainage time， hospital stay， and complication incidence such as bleeding， temporary hypocalcemia， and injury of superior laryngeal nerve between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. All the patients in 2 groups had followed-up for 6 months without death， recurrence， and metastasis.Conclusions The lymphatic tracer technique of carbon nanoparticles may improve the number of dissected lymph nodes in central region of cN0 papillary thyroid carcinoma， without increasing （or prolonging） operation time， intraoperative blood loss， and postoperative hospital stay， and can accurately represent the metastasis of lymph node， thus to make the staging of the tumor accurately and guide postoperative treatment.
Objective To determine the best matching concentration of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection adsorb epirubicin by measuring the combination ratio of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection combined with epirubicin under different matching conditions. And then, to prove the adsorbability of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection adsorb epirubicin in vitro. Methods Firstly, epirubicin-carbon suspension of different concentrations will be prepared. The second, high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry（LC-MS） was used to assay the concentration of free epirubicin, and calculate the content of epirubicin that was combinated with carbon nanoparticles suspension injection. The difference of the ratio of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection combined with epirubicin under different matching conditions will be compared in the end. Results The combination ratio of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection combined with epirubicin solution of 5, 10, and 15 mg/ml were 85.6%, 85.7%, and 31.8%, respectively. Conclusions The adsorbability of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection adsorb epirubicin is favourable in vitro. Best matching concentration of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection adsorb epirubicin may be epirubicin solution of 5-10 mg/ml.
We prepared silver nanoparticles/polyethyleneimine-reduction graphene oxide (AgNP/rGO-PEI) composite materials, and evaluated their quality performance in our center. Firstly, we prepared AgNP/rGO-PEI, and then analysed its stability, antibacterial activity, and cellular toxicity by comparing the AgNP/rGO-PEI with the silver nanoparticles (PVP/AgNP) modified by polyvinylpyrrolidone. We found in the study that silver nanoparticles (AgNP) distributed relatively uniformly in AgNP/rGO-PEI surface, silver nanoparticles mass fraction was 4.5%, and particle size was 6-13 nm. In dark or in low illumination light intensity of 3 000 lx meter environment (lux) for 10 days, PVP/AgNP aggregation was more obvious, but the AgNP/rGO-PEI had good dispersibility and its aggregation was not obvious; AgNP/rGO-PEI had a more excellent antibacterial activity, biological compatibility and relatively low biological toxicity. It was concluded that AgNP/rGO-PEI composite materials had reliable quality and good performance, and would have broad application prospects in the future.
This paper provides a brief overview of the current research activities which focused on the bio-application of gold magnetic nanocomposite particles. By combining the magnetic characteristics of the iron oxide core with the unique features of nano-gold particles such as targeting by surface modification and optical properties, such composite nanoparticles have a wide range of applications in cancer hyperthermia, CT and MRI imaging, bio-separation, biosensors, gene diagnosis, drug targeting and many other biomedical fields.
The study of viruses traditionally focused on their roles as infectious agents and as tools for understanding cell biology. Recently, however, with the development of structural biology, viruses have now been receiving particular attention in nanotechnology. By chemical methods or by gene modification, viruses have been functionalized as potential building blocks for several applications, such as drug/gene delivery vehicles, advanced vaccine vehicles, and special inorganic or organic nanomaterials. Here we highlight some of the recent progresses in the medical applications of viruses.
Cobalt or chromium alloys are the most common clinical materials of prosthesis and there have been some investigators at home and abroad have done related researches about the genotoxic effects of cobalt and chromium ions and nanoparticles. People have certain understanding about the mechanism of production of ions as well as their influence on cells. However, chromium or cobalt nanoparticles genotoxicity related research is still in its preliminary stage. In each stage, the mechanisms, from creating of the particles, through entering cells, until finally causing genotoxic, are still contained many problems to be solved. This article reviews the research progress in mechanisms of production and genotoxic effects of cobalt, chromium ions and nanoparticles.
Due to the good tumor-targeting and excellent biocompatibility, the drug-loading nanoparticles (NPs) has been widely applied in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. However, after the NPs are recognized and internalized by cancer cells, the effects of NPs on cell migration behavior were unclear. In the present study, the self-assembly techniques (SAMs) was used to modify gold (Au) nanoparticles (Au NPs) with different chemical functional groups (CH3, OH, COOH and NH2) as model NPs. The dispersion of these groups in solution and the distribution in cells were studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively, and the proliferation was examined by MTT assay in vitro. The wound-healing and the Transwell assay were used to examine the effect of internalized Au-NPs on HepG2 cells migration. The results showed that different Au-NPs mainly distributed at the edge of the vesicle membrane and the gap between cells. The Au-NPs resulted in decreased cell viability in a concentration-depended manner. In addition, the results of wound-healing and Transwells assay indicated that the internalization of the NH2-NPs and OH-NPs would inhibit cell migration compared with those in the control group.