Effect of nanoparticles of different stiffness combined with menthol/curcumol on mechanical properties of bEnd.3 cells / 中国中药杂志

This study aimed to investigate the effects of nanoparticles PLGA-NPs and mesoporous silicon nanoparticles(MSNs) of different stiffness before and after combination with menthol or curcumol on the mechanical properties of bEnd.3 cells. The particle size distributions of PLGA-NPs and MSNs were measured by Malvern particle size analyzer, and the stiffness of the two nanoparticles was quantified by atomic force microscopy(AFM). The bEnd.3 cells were cultured in vitro, and the cell surface morphology, roughness, and Young's modulus were examined to characterize the roughness and stiffness of the cell surface. The changes in the mechanical properties of the cells were observed by AFM, and the structure and expression of cytoskeletal F-actin were observed by a laser-scanning confocal microscope. The results showed that both nanoparticles had good dispersion. The particle size of PLGA-NPs was(98.77±2.04) nm, the PDI was(0.140±0.030), and Young's modulus value was(104.717±8.475) MPa. The particle size of MSNs was(97.47±3.92) nm, the PDI was(0.380±0.016), and Young's modulus value was(306.019±8.822) MPa. The stiffness of PLGA-NPs was significantly lower than that of MSNs. After bEnd.3 cells were treated by PLGA-NPs and MSNs separately, the cells showed fine pores on the cell surface, increased roughness, decreased Young's modulus, blurred and broken F-actin bands, and reduced mean gray value. Compared with PLGA-NPs alone, PLGA-NPs combined with menthol or curcumol could allow deepened and densely distributed surface pores of bEnd.3 cells, increase roughness, reduce Young's modulus, aggravate F-actin band breakage, and diminish mean gray value. Compared with MSNs alone, MSNs combined with menthol could allow deepened and densely distributed surface pores of bEnd.3 cells, increase roughness, reduce Young's modulus, aggravate F-actin band breakage, and diminish mean gray value, while no significant difference was observed in combination with curcumol. Therefore, it is inferred that the aromatic components can increase the intracellular uptake and transport of nanoparticles by altering the biomechanical properties of bEnd.3 cells.

Analysis on Quality Transmitting of Substance Benchmarks of Yihuangtang / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To explore the quality transmitting relationship between decoction pieces and substance benchmarks with the fingerprint， index component content and dry extract rate as evaluation indexes， and investigate the key quality attributes of 15 batches of substance benchmarks of Yihuangtang， and establish the quality standard of this substance benchmarks. Method:Fifteen batches of Yihuangtang substance benchmarks freeze-dried powder samples were prepared， the fingerprint and index component content of 15 batches of decoction pieces and substance benchmarks were determined by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）， the mobile phase was acetonitrile （A）-0.1% phosphoric acid aqueous solution （B） for gradient elution （0-6 min， 97%B； 6-12 min， 97%-92%B； 12-25 min， 92%-90%B； 25-35 min， 90%-89%B； 35-50 min， 89%-82%B； 50-75 min， 82%-72%B； 75-85 min， 72%-35%B）， the detection wavelength was set at 230 nm， combined the dry extract rate to clarify the attribution of characteristic peaks and the range of similarity with the control chromatogram， the content range and transfer rate range of geniposidic acid and berberine hydrochloride， the dry extract rate range and the variation range of the substance benchmarks. Result:The established HPLC fingerprint had good precision， repeatability and stability， and could be used for the simultaneous determination of decoction pieces and substance benchmarks of Yihuangtang. The similarities between the control chromatogram and fingerprint of substance benchmarks were >0.99. A total of 15 characteristic peaks were assigned， and 8 characteristic peaks were identified by the reference substances， of which 6 were from Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex processed with salt， 1 was from Plantaginis Semen processed with wine， and 1 was from stir-fried Dioscoreae Rhizoma. The content ranges of geniposidic acid and berberine hydrochloride in 15 batches of substance benchmarks of Yihuangtang were 0.10%-0.16% and 0.63%-1.05%， the transfer rate ranges of them were 20.91%-32.65% and 19.60%-29.59%， respectively. The dry extract rate range of the substance benchmarks was 8.45%-9.92%. Conclusion:The quality standard of Yihuangtang substance benchmarks can be preliminarily formulated by the combination of fingerprint， dry extract rate and determination of index component， which can provide the basis for the quality control of Yihuangtang and the development of related preparations.