A glassware-free combinatorial synthesis of green quantum dots using bubble wrap.

Here, we describe the use of commercially-available bubble wrap as the basis for the simple, cheap combinatorial exploration of the synthesis of brightly emitting core/shell quantum dots.

Probing T1-T2 interactions and their imaging implications through a thermally responsive nanoprobe.

The complex and specialised diagnostic process through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be simplified with the implementation of dual T1-T2 contrast agents. T1- and T2-weighted MR are compatible modalities, and co-acquisition of contrast enhanced images in both T1 and T2 will drastically reduce artefacts and provide double-checked results. To date, efforts in the development of dual MRI probes have provided inconsistent results. Here we present the preparation and relaxometric study of a dual T1-T2 MRI probe based on superparamagnetic nanoparticles, paramagnetic Gd3+ chelates and pNIPAM (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)), in which the distance between paramagnetic and superparamagnetic species can be modulated externally via temperature variations. Such a probe alleviates traditional nanotechnology limitations (e.g. batch to batch variability) as comparisons can be established within a single probe.

Pancreatic ß-cell imaging in humans: fiction or option?

Diabetes mellitus is a growing worldwide epidemic disease, currently affecting 1 in 12 adults. Treatment of disease complications typically consumes ∼10% of healthcare budgets in developed societies. Whilst immune-mediated destruction of insulin-secreting pancreatic ß cells is responsible for Type 1 diabetes, both the loss and dysfunction of these cells underly the more prevalent Type 2 diabetes. The establishment of robust drug development programmes aimed at ß-cell restoration is still hampered by the absence of means to measure ß-cell mass prospectively in vivo, an approach which would provide new opportunities for understanding disease mechanisms and ultimately assigning personalized treatments. In the present review, we describe the progress towards this goal achieved by the Innovative Medicines Initiative in Diabetes, a collaborative public-private consortium supported by the European Commission and by dedicated resources of pharmaceutical companies. We compare several of the available imaging methods and molecular targets and provide suggestions as to the likeliest to lead to tractable approaches. Furthermore, we discuss the simultaneous development of animal models that can be used to measure subtle changes in ß-cell mass, a prerequisite for validating the clinical potential of the different imaging tracers.

Effect of cholinergic agents on human spermatozoa motility.

The effect of various cholinergic agents on human spermatozoa motility was studied. Both direct-acting (e.g., acetylcholine, pilocarpine) and indirect-acting (e.g., physostigmine) cholinergic agonists stimulated human spermatozoa motility. All the cholinergic antagonists (e.g., atropine, hyoscine, hexamethonium, d-tubocurarine, and succinylcholine) inhibited the spermatozoa motility. At 1 X 10(-4) M, muscarinic antagonists, atropine and hyoscine, did not influence motility, whereas nicotinic antagonists, hexamethonium, d-tubocurarine and succinylcholine, depressed motility. These observations suggest that a nicotinic-type receptor is present in spermatozoa. However, these studies did not exclude the possibility of the presence of a muscarinic receptor in spermatozoa.