Analysis of funding in nuclear medicine and molecular imaging research projects supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China from 2013 to 2022 / 中华核医学与分子影像杂志

Objective:To analyze the application and funding status of various projects of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) from 2013 to 2022, and explore the challenges faced by basic research and clinical transformation in this field.Methods:From 2013 to 2022, application and funding information of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging projects (secondary code H2704, H2706) from five departments of Medical Science Department of NSFC were retrospectively collected. The number of applications, number of funding, funding direction, funding intensity, distribution of supporting units and research hotspots of various projects in this field were analyzed.Results:From 2013 to 2022, the total number of applications of various projects in the field of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging reached 5 387, and the total number of grants reached 899. The number of applications and grants showed a steady growth trend. The overall funding intensity increased from 48.935 0 million yuan in 2013 to 59.495 4 million yuan in 2022, with the increase of 21.58%. Among all supporting units, Shanghai Jiao Tong University topped the list for both the number of applications (440) and the number of grants (82), Xiamen University ranked the first in terms of overall funding rate (25.42%, 30/118), and Peking University ranked the first in terms of total funding intensity (41.897 1 million yuan). Research hotspots focused on the construction of tumor targeted molecular probes and precise imaging of tumor internal molecular components.Conclusion:In the past decade, the number of related projects and total funding of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging supported by NSFC have steadily increased, and the types of funded projects are diverse and interdisciplinary, promoting the innovative development of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging disciplines in China.

Biomimetic carbon nanotubes for neurological disease therapeutics as inherent medication

Nowadays, nanotechnology is revolutionizing the approaches to different fields from manufacture to health. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as promising candidates in nanomedicine have great potentials in developing novel entities for central nervous system pathologies, due to their excellent physicochemical properties and ability to interface with neurons and neuronal circuits. However, most of the studies mainly focused on the drug delivery and bioimaging applications of CNTs, while neglect their application prospects as therapeutic drugs themselves. At present, the relevant reviews are not available yet. Herein we summarized the latest advances on the biomedical and therapeutic applications of CNTs and for neurological diseases treatments as inherent therapeutic drugs. The biological mechanisms of CNTs-mediated bio-medical effects and potential toxicity of CNTs were also intensely discussed. It is expected that CNTs will exploit further neurological applications on disease therapy in the near future.

In vivo anti-tumor effect of DC-CIK cells on human lymphoma cell line Raji

To research on the effect of DC-CIK cells on human lymphoma cell line Raji the immunophenotype of DCCIK cells was analyzed using flow cytometry, and its proliferation inhibition effect was detected using MTT assay. 24 nude mice [4-6 weeks old] were employed and inoculated Raji cells on right axillaries for constructing human Burkitt lymphoma model. MTT results showed that DC-CIK cells had a significant inhibitory effect on Raji cells with obvious dose- and time- dependent effect. Western Blot results confirmed that DC-CIK cells could significantly down regulate the expression of BCL-2 [P<0.05]. DC-CIK cells possesses significant anti-tumor effect on human Burkitt lymphoma bearing nude mice, and down regulation of Raji induced BCL-2 cell apoptosis may be one of the inhibitory mechanisms of DC-CIK cells

Nanotechnology-based strategies for treatment of ocular disease

Ocular diseases include various anterior and posterior segment diseases. Due to the unique anatomy and physiology of the eye, efficient ocular drug delivery is a great challenge to researchers and pharmacologists. Although there are conventional noninvasive and invasive treatments, such as eye drops, injections and implants, the current treatments either suffer from low bioavailability or severe adverse ocular effects. Alternatively, the emerging nanoscience and nanotechnology are playing an important role in the development of novel strategies for ocular disease therapy. Various active molecules have been designed to associate with nanocarriers to overcome ocular barriers and intimately interact with specific ocular tissues. In this review, we highlight the recent attempts of nanotechnology-based systems for imaging and treating ocular diseases, such as corneal d iseases, glaucoma, retina diseases, and choroid diseases. Although additional work remains, the progress described herein may pave the way to new, highly effective and important ocular nanomedicines.