Magnetic field potential effects on the doxorubicin therapeutic activity in Ehrlich tumor growth.

AIM: Therapeutic choices for cancer patients include many combinations of therapeutic protocols. The present study aimed to investigate and discuss the combined effects of magnetic field and chemotherapy treatment on Ehrlich tumor-induced growth in Swiss albino mice. The benefits of both treatments are discussed and interpreted. METHODS: Fifty adult male mice were randomly divided into two groups; ten mice in the first group served as control group and forty in the second group which received a single dose IP injection of tumor fluid (0.02 Ml) to induce tumor. Ten days post injection to allow the tumor to growth, the 40 mice were sub- divided in to 4 sub-groups 10 mice pre each to introduce the treatment. RESULTS: The results indicated tumor growth inhibition regarding mean tumor volume variation (ml) presented. All treatments display tumor growth prevention effect compared to control untreated mice. Treatment with Dox + 7G (MF) exposure exhibited a significant inhibition of tumor growth than that treated alone with DOX or magnetic field; 82% inhibition for DOX + MF 7 G against 60% for 7 G , and 31% for DOX only. Optical density data show a higher values of the molar absorption coefficient ε for all treated groups than untreated one. The fluorescence emission spectra of Hb show an emission peaks λem at 465, 515, and 639 nm. Hematological examination might indicate to discriminative effects to RBCs, WBCs or/and Hb for all treated groups. Moreover, treatment with Dox + 7G MF shows a proper discriminative effects than that treatment with DOX or magnetic field only. Osmotic fragility (OF) test indicates that the combination between drug and magnetic field have nontoxic effect against RBCs membrane. CONCLUSION: Our findings support further exploration of the potential of magnetic fields in cancer therapeutics, either as adjunct or primary therapy. It may be due to enhancing the drug interaction with tumor cells which increase the therapeutic index of DOX and resulted in increased anti-tumor activity against Ehrlich tumor models. These benefits promote the use of the magnetic field in cancer with chemotherapy over the other traditional treatment agents this highly adapted manner can be used in improving the clinical treatment protocol and fights against cancer.

Preparation and characterization of polymeric nanoparticles surface modified with chitosan for target treatment of colorectal cancer.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded chitosan (C) coated polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles [NPs] (C-5-FU PLGA NPs) and polycaprolactone [PCL] (C-5-FU PCL NPs) were employed as the carriers for cancer treatment. The prepared NPs showed the spherical shape of NPs with the particle size in the range of 188.1-302.2nm with polydispersity index (PDI) of <0.30. C-coated NPs converted zeta potential from negative to positive value with small modification in particle size distribution. The entrapment efficiency of 5-FU was recorded in the range of 32-51%. The in vitro release studies showed an initial rapid 5-FU release followed by a sustained release profile. The in vitro cytotoxicity of C-5-FU PLGA NPs showed significant inhibition of colon cancer cells (HT-29) compared to the other NPs and drug solution. These results showed that C-5-FU PLGA NPs can be considered as a promising carrier for cancer therapy.

Quantitative imaging characteristics of zirconium-89 on Gemini Time-Of-Flight PET/CT.

PURPOSE: Interest in PET imaging using zirconium-89 (Zr) (t1/2=78.41 h)-labeled tracers for the tracking and quantification of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is growing, mainly because of its well-matched physical half-life with the biological half-life of intact mAbs. This study aims to evaluate the imaging characteristics of Zr-PET in comparison with those obtained using fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET (gold standard tracer in PET imaging) using a Time-Of-Flight (TOF) PET/computed tomography (CT) scanner. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The system's spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction (SF), image uniformity, and image quality were measured on a Gemini TOF PET/CT scanner according to the NEMA NU2-2001 protocols. The NEMA 2001 kit was used to carry out these measurements. Timing and energy resolutions were measured using Na and F-FDG point sources only. RESULTS: Spatial resolution in transverse and axial planes measured at 10 mm off access were 4.7 and 4.6 mm for Zr and F-FDG, respectively. At 100 mm, radial, tangential, and axial spatial resolution values were 5.2, 5.1, and 5.2 mm for Zr and 5.1, 4.9, and 5.2 mm for F-FDG, respectively. Sensitivity measured at the center of the field of view was 14.6 and 4.16 cps/kBq for Zr and F-FDG, respectively. SF was 32.6% for Zr in comparison with 31.8% for F-FDG. Image contrast for Zr-PET images was 36.9 and 29.7% for F-FDG for the smallest (10 mm)-sized sphere, and it was 70.6 and 72.8% for Zr and F-FDG, respectively, for the largest (37 mm)-sized sphere. Background variation was 10.3% for Zr and 6.8% for F-FDG for the smallest-sized sphere and 3.4 and 3.8% for Zr and F-FDG, respectively, for the largest-sized sphere. CONCLUSION: In this study, we measured imaging characteristics of Zr on a Gemini TOF PET/CT scanner. Our results show that Zr has lower spatial resolution and noise-equivalent count rate with increased SF and background variation; however, it offered superior sensitivity and improved image contrast in comparison with F-FDG. Zr is an ideal radiotracer for immuno-PET imaging because of its physical half-life, which is well matched with mAbs, in addition to its affinity to be trapped inside the target cell after internalization of the mAbs.

Targeting doxorubicin encapsulated in stealth liposomes to solid tumors by non thermal diode laser.

BACKGROUND: The use of liposomes as drug delivery systems is the most promising technique for targeting drug especially for anticancer therapy. METHODS: In this study sterically stabilized liposomes was prepared from DPPC/Cholesterol/PEG-PE encapsulated doxorubicin. The effect of lyophilization on liposomal stability and hence expiration date were studied. Moreover, the effect of diode laser on the drug released from liposomesin vitro and in vivo in mice carrying implanted solid tumor were also studied. RESULTS: The results indicated that lyophilization of the prepared liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin led to marked stability when stored at 5 °C and it is possible to use the re-hydrated lyophilized liposomes within 12 days post reconstitution. Moreover, the use of low energy diode laser for targeting anticancer drug to the tumor cells is a promising method in cancer therapy. CONCLUSION: We can conclude that lyophilization of the liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin lead to marked stability for the liposomes when stored at 5 °C. Moreover, the use of low energy diode laser for targeting anticancer drug to the tumor cells through the use of photosensitive sterically stabilized liposomes loaded with doxorubicin is a promising method. It proved to be applicable and successful for treatment of Ehrlich solid tumors implanted in mice and eliminated toxic side effects of doxorubicin.

Rheological and dielectric properties of different gold nanoparticle sizes.

BACKGROUND: Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) have found themselves useful for diagnostic, drug delivery and biomedicine applications, but one of the important concerns is about their safety in clinical applications. Nanoparticle size has been shown to be an extremely important parameter affecting the nanoparticle uptake and cellular internalization. The rheological properties assume to be very important as it affects the pressure drop and hence the pumping power when nano-fluids are circulated in a closed loop. The rheological and dielectric properties have not been documented and identified before. The aim of the present study was to investigate the rheology and the dielectric properties of different GNPs sizes in aqueous solution. METHODS: 10, 20 and 50 nm GNPs (Product MKN-Au, CANADA) was used in this study. The rheological parameters were viscosity, torque, shear stress, shear rate, plastic viscosity, yield stress, consistency index, and activation energy. These rheological parameters were measured using Brookfield LVDV-III Programmable rheometer supplied with temperature bath and controlled by a computer. RESULTS: The shear stress and shear rate of GNPs have shown a linear relationship and GNPs exhibited Newtonian behaviour. The GNPs with larger particle size (50 nm) exhibited more viscosity than those with smaller particle sizes (10 and 20 nm). Viscosity decreased with increasing the temperature for all the examined GNP sizes. The flow behaviour index (n) values were nearly ≤ 1 for all examined GNP sizes. Dielectric data indicated that the GNPs have strong dielectric dispersion in the frequency range of 20-100 kHz. The conductivity and relaxation time decreased with increasing the GNP size. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the GNP size has considerable influence on the viscosity of GNPs. The strong dielectric dispersion was GNP size dependent. The decrease in relaxation time might be attributed to increase in the localized charges distribution within the medium confirmed by the conductivity data. This study suggests that further experiments are required to be done after the administration of GNPs through different routes in rats in vivo.

Effect of dialysis on erythrocyte membrane of chronically hemodialyzed patients.

The present work examines the role of uremia and the effect of dialysis treatment on red blood cells (RBCs) membrane properties of hemodialysis patients. The results showed that, the uremic patients had a lower values of erythrocyte deformability than that of healthy control subject. The median osmotic fragility (MOF) showed a significant increase in hemodialyzed patients than that for control group. The osmotic resistance to hemolysis was improved after dialysis. The solubilization process of the RBCs membrane showed that the detergent concentration needed to solubilize the RBCs membrane for uremic patient was much higher than that for control group. The abnormalities of the present results for RBCs membrane properties are mostly related to membrane fluidity, which are slightly improved after dialysis. Biochemical analysis showed a decreasing trend in RBCs count, urea nitrogen, creatinine, potassium,