ABSTRACT
Improved techniques were applied to formulate drugs into dimensional nanostructures, doped "nanovesicles". These nanovesicles are solely composed of self-assembled amphiphilic antiviral agents used for the treatment of viral infections caused by flaviviruses, such as Zika virus. Studies were done to evaluate the effectiveness of the syntheses, formation, and performance under different experimental conditions, and behavior of the drug nanovesicles in vitro and in vivo. These studies demonstrated that assembling the hydrophobic antiviral drug molecules into nanodrugs is a successful technique for the delivery of the therapeutic agents, otherwise difficult to be supplied. Our studies confirmed that this nanodrug preserved and, in many cases, enhanced the embedded cellular activity of the parental free drug molecules, both in vitro and in vivo. This proposed formulation is highly important as it addresses the issue of insolubility and low bioavailabiity of a wide range of highly potent pharmaceutical drugs-not limited to a specific class of antiviral drugs-that are of high demand for the treatment of medical conditions and emerging pathogens.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the toxic effects of Aqueous Film-Forming Foams used by firefighters for Class B fire suppression in human-derived kidney cells (HEK-293). METHODS: Three widely used AFFFs were collected from fire departments and were added to HEK-293 cells in various concentrations. Seventy-two hours post-treatment, cellular proliferation and toxicity were examined using commercially available kits. RESULTS: All AFFFs evaluated induced cellular toxicity and significantly decreased cell proliferation, even when cells were treated with concentrations 10-fold lower than the working concentration used for fire suppression. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the reduced usage of PFAS-containing AFFFs in the firefighter work environment, the evaluated AFFFs demonstrated significantly altered cellular proliferation, while also inducing toxicity, indicating the presence of toxic compounds. Both stronger implementation of PFAS-containing AFFFs restrictions and robust evaluation of fluorine-free and next-generation AFFFs are warranted.
Subject(s)
Fluorocarbons , Water Pollutants, Chemical , Aerosols , Cell Proliferation , HEK293 Cells , Humans , WaterABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Molecular biology tools, such as the detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), have been considered to assist in the management of ovarian stimulation protocols. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of two polymorphisms, the Asn680Ser polymorphism of the FSHR gene, and the FSH ß subunit (FSHß) gene polymorphism -211 G>T, in a Greek population of women undergoing IVF/ICSI program in our center. In addition, a control group of fertile women was studied to verify whether there are differences in the genotype distribution between fertile and infertile population for both polymorphisms, as the FSHß gene polymorphism -211 G>T is studied for the first time in the Greek population. RESULTS: The FSH ß-211 G>T polymorphism, studied for the first time in the infertile Greek population, appears to be quite rare. When studying the two polymorphisms separately, statistically significant differences were obtained that concerned the LH levels. DISCUSSION: According to the combination analysis of the two polymorphisms by the number of alleles, women with 2-3 polymorphic alleles needed more days of stimulation, but there were no differences in pregnancy rates. CONCLUSION: This molecular genetic study helps to elucidate whether the polygenic combination of the Asn680Ser and FSH ß subunit -211 G>T gene polymorphisms is of additive value in the prediction of ovarian response to exogenous gonadotropins.
