TRAIL-NP hybrids for cancer therapy: a review.

Cancer is a worldwide health problem. It is now considered as a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. In the last few decades, considerable progress has been made in anti-cancer therapies, allowing the cure of patients suffering from this disease, or at least helping to prolong their lives. Several cancers, such as those of the lung and pancreas, are still devastating in the absence of therapeutic options. In the early 90s, TRAIL (Tumor Necrosis Factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand), a cytokine belonging to the TNF superfamily, attracted major interest in oncology owing to its selective anti-tumor properties. Clinical trials using soluble TRAIL or antibodies targeting the two main agonist receptors (TRAIL-R1 and TRAIL-R2) have, however, failed to demonstrate their efficacy in the clinic. TRAIL is expressed on the surface of natural killer or CD8+ T activated cells and contributes to tumor surveillance. Nanoparticles functionalized with TRAIL mimic membrane-TRAIL and exhibit stronger antitumoral properties than soluble TRAIL or TRAIL receptor agonist antibodies. This review provides an update on the association and the use of nanoparticles associated with TRAIL for cancer therapy.

Control of carbon nanotube handedness using a supramolecular chiral surface.

Sorting diameter and handedness of carbon nanotubes still appears as an important challenge in nanotechnology. In this context, supramolecular structures formed by self-assembled chiral molecules deposited on well-defined metal surfaces can be used to discriminate the two isomers of carbon nanotubes. Calculations are carried out to determine the adsorption energy of nanotube enantiomers on alaninate coated Cu(110) surface. The results show a significant discrimination of the L and R handed isomers by such a surface and an additional selectivity in terms of small and large tube diameters.

A molecular dynamics simulation of the electrical conductivity behaviors of highly concentrated liquid ammoniates NaIalphaNH(3): comparison with experimental measurements.

In this paper, we present a molecular dynamics simulation study devoted to the calculation of the electrical conductivities of highly concentrated liquid electrolytes as a function of their dilution. As an illustration, we give the first such study of the ammoniate NaIalphaNH(3). The theoretical results are presented together with experimental data obtained at 293 K, and show that the calculated conductivities are in agreement with the experimental values in the whole salt dilution range provided that correlations between the species in the solution are taken into account. Indeed, the usual Nernst-Einstein relation is a crude approximation to calculate accurately the conductivities in such high concentrated electrolytes.

Culture of neural cells on polymers coated surfaces for biosensor applications.

We focused our study on the olfactory cells growth on biocompatible polymer films electrodeposited on a silicon microsystem. Several substrates such as polyethyleneimine (PEI), polypropyleneimine (PPI), and polypyrrole (PPy), acting as potentially good candidates for cell culture, were tested in order to allow cells to adhere and proliferate. During their growth, the evolution of their morphology was monitored using both confocal microscope and immunohistochemistry, leading to the conclusion of a normal development. An estimation of the adhesion and proliferation rates of rat neuronal cell cultures indicated that PEI and PPI were the best substrates for cultivating olfactory cells.

Adhesion and proliferation of cells on new polymers modified biomaterials.

Up to today, several techniques have been used to maintain cells in culture for studying many aspects of cell biology and physiology. More often, cell culture is dependent on proper anchorage of cells to the growth surface. Poly-l-lysine is commonly used as adhesive molecule. In this study, we present, as an alternative to poly-l-lysine, new polymer film substrates, realized by electropolymerization of different monomers on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) surfaces since electropolymerization is a good method to coat selectively metallic or semiconducting electrodes with polymer films. So, the adhesion, proliferation and morphology of rat neuronal cell lines were investigated on polymer treated surfaces. Several amine-based biocompatible polymers were tested: polyethyleneimine (PEI), polypropyleneimine (PPI), polypyrrole (PPy) and poly(p-phenylenediamine) (PPPD). These polymer films were coated on FTO surfaces by electrochemical oxidation. After 8 h in a culture medium, a high percentage of cells was found to be attached to PEI and PPI compared to the other polymers and to the reference surfaces (glass and FTO uncovered). After 24 and 72 h in the culture medium, cells were found to proliferate faster on PEI and PPI than on other polymers and reference surfaces. Consequently, cells have a greater fold expansion on PEI and PPI than on PPPD, PPy or glass and FTO uncoated. From these results, we deduce that PEI and PPI can be useful as coating surface to cultivate neuronal cells.