pH-sensitive pullulan-doxorubicin nanoparticles loaded with 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane as a novel synergist for high intensity focused ultrasound mediated tumor ablation.

Nanoemulsions as synergists of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) have been widely investigated, since they possess huge potential for improving the efficiency to ablate tumor. However, their clinical applications are limited due to the unsatisfactory phase-transition effect of nanoemulsions during the process of generating nanobubbles. Herein, a novel synergist for HIFU therapy was designed by encapsulating 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane (CFC) into pH-sensitive pullulan-doxorubicin (Pu-DOX/CFC) nanoparticles. These Pu-DOX/CFC nanoemulsions, with moderate vaporization temperature threshold of 47 °C, could provide favorable phase-transition effect, thus facilitating HIFU energy deposition. Meanwhile, Pu-DOX/CFC nanoemulsions could effectively deliver DOX/CFC to the tumor site and carry out combined therapy. The in vitro and in vivo results confirmed that Pu-DOX/CFC nanoemulsions notably enhanced both ablation and therapeutic efficiency comparing with other synergists. In conclusion, Pu-DOX/CFC nanoemulsions might serve as a novel synergist for HIFU therapy, and possess great potential in clinical implication.

Atmospheric Degradation Initiated by OH Radicals of the Potential Foam Expansion Agent, CF3(CF2)2CH═CH2 (HFC-1447fz): Kinetics and Formation of Gaseous Products and Secondary Organic Aerosols.

The assessment of the atmospheric impact of the potential foam expansion agent, CF3(CF2)2CH═CH2 (HFC-1447fz), requires the knowledge of its degradation routes, oxidation products, and radiative properties. In this paper, the gas-phase reactivity of HFC-1447fz with OH radicals is presented as a function of temperature, obtaining kOH (T = 263-358 K) = (7.4 ± 0.4) × 10(-13)exp{(161 ± 16)/T} (cm(3)·molecule(-1)·s(-1)) (uncertainties: ±2σ). The formation of gaseous oxidation products and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) from the OH + HFC-1447fz reaction was investigated in the presence of NOx at 298 K. CF3(CF2)2CHO was observed at low- and high-NOx conditions. Evidence of SOA formation (ultrafine particles in the range 10-100 nm) is reported with yields ranging from 0.12 to 1.79%. In addition, the absolute UV (190-368 nm) and IR (500-4000 cm(-1)) absorption cross-sections of HFC-1447fz were determined at room temperature. No appreciable absorption in the solar actinic region (λ > 290 nm) was observed, leaving the removal by OH radicals as the main atmospheric loss process for HFC-1447fz. The major contribution of the atmospheric loss of HFC-1447fz is due to OH reaction (84%), followed by ozone (10%) and chlorine atoms (6%). Correction of the instantaneous radiative efficiency (0.36 W m(-2)·ppbv(-1)) with the relatively short lifetime of HFC-1447fz (ca. 8 days) implies that its global warming potential at a time horizon of 100 year is negligible (0.19) compared to that of HCFC-141b (782) and to that of modern foam-expansion blowing agents (148, 882, and 804 for HFC-152a, HFC-245fa and HFC-365mfc, respectively).

Cell adhesion response on femtosecond laser initiated liquid assisted silicon surface.

Silicon substrates were irradiated at normal incidence with a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (Quatronix, 90 fs pulse duration, 1 kHz repetition rate, M(2) ~ 1.2, maximum energy peak 350 mJ ) operating at a wavelength of 400 nm and focused via a microscope objective (Newport; UV Objective Model, 37x 0.11 N.A.). The laser scanning was assisted by liquids precursors media such as methanol and 1,1,2-trichlorotrifluoroethane. By altering the processing parameters, such as incident laser energy, scanning speed, and different irradiation media, various surface structures were produced on areas with 1 mm(2) dimensions. We analyzed the dependence of the surface morphology on laser pulse energy, scanning speed and irradiation media. Well ordered areas are developed without imposing any boundary conditions for the capillary waves that coarsens the ripple pattern. To assess biomaterial-driven cell adhesion response we investigated actin filaments organization and cell morphological changes following growth onto processed silicon substrates. Our study of bone cell progenitor interaction with laser nanoprocessed silicon lines has shown that cells anchor mainly to contact points along the nanostructured surface. Consequently, actin filaments are stretched towards the 15 µm wide parallel lines increasing lateral cell spreading and changing the bipolar shape of mesenchymal stem cells.

Reformulation of Stmerin(®) D CFC formulation using HFA propellants.

Stmerin(®) D was reformulated using hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA-134a and HFA-227) as alternative propellants instead of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), where the active ingredients were suspended in mixed CFCs (CFC-11/CFC-12/CFC-114). Here, we report the suspension stability and spray performance of the original CFC formulation and a reformulation using HFAs. We prepared metered dose inhalers (MDI) using HFAs with different surfactants and co-solvents, and investigated the effect on suspension stability by visual testing. We found that the drug suspension stability was poor in both HFAs, but was improved, particularly for HFA-227, by adding a middle chain fatty acid triglycerides (MCT) to the formulation. However, the vapor pressure of HFA-227 is higher than a CFC mixture and this increased the fine particle dose (FPD). Spray performance was adjusted by altering the actuator configuration, and the performance of different actuators was tested by cascade impaction. We found the spray performance could be controlled by the configuration of the actuator. A spray performance comparable to the original formulation was obtained with a 0.8 mm orifice diameter and a 90° cone angle. These results demonstrate that the reformulation of Stmerin(®) D using HFA-227 is feasible, by using MCT as a suspending agent and modifying the actuator configuration.