One Pot Green Synthesis of Doxorubicin and Curcumin Loaded Magnetic Nanoparticles and Cytotoxicity Studies.

BACKGROUND: Green synthesis, an alternative method for synthesizing nanoparticles, is cheaper, environmentally friendly, and does not show toxic effects. Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic agent used in lung cancer. Curcumin is a bioactive compound with properties, such as an anticancer obtained from Curcuma longa. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop Doxorubicin and Curcumin loaded magnetic nanoparticles that could be synthesized by green tea leaves and to investigate cytotoxic effects against the A549-luc-C8, non-small cell lung cancer line. METHODS: Magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized with the green synthesis method. Furthermore, Doxorubicin and Curcumin were encapsulated into magnetic nanoparticles with the one-pot method and obtained magnetic nanoparticles characterized using FTIR, SEM/EDX, XRD, and UV-VIS spectrophotometric techniques. After that, The drug release test was performed by dialysis using pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline at 37 °C. MTT assay was performed to test the cytotoxicity effect in the A549-luc-C8 cell line. RESULTS: FTIR analysis verified the magnetic structure and drug loading. SEM images of magnetic nanoparticle revealed that they had a size of about 50-60 nm in a mono-disperse manner. Drug release after 24 h was found to be 5.8% for doxorubicin and 3.4% for curcumin, showing controlled release. CONCLUSION: Results showed that the prepared magnetic nanoparticles had a synergistic antitumor activity for A549-luc-C8.

In vitro evaluation of doxorubicin-incorporated magnetic albumin nanospheres.

Magnetic albumin nanospheres that incorporate doxorubicin (M-DOX-BSA-NPs) were prepared previously by our research group to develop magnetically responsive drug carrier system. This nanocarrier was synthesized as a drug delivery system for targeted chemotherapy. In this work, cytotoxic effects of doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded/unloaded or magnetic/non-magnetic nanoparticles and free DOX against PC-3 cells and A549 cells were determined with the MTT test and the results were compared with each other. DOX-loaded magnetic albumin nanospheres (M-DOX-BSA-NPs) were found more cytotoxic than other formulations. The quantitative data obtained from flow cytometry analysis further verified the higher targeting and killing ability of M-DOX-BSA-NPs than free DOX on both of the cancer cell lines. Additionally, the results of cell cycle analysis have showed that M-DOX-BSA-NPs affected G1 and G2 phases. Finally, cell images were obtained using spin-disk confocal microscopy, and cellular uptake of M-DOX-BSA-NPs was visualized. The findings of this study suggest that M-DOX-BSA-NPs represent a potential doxorubicin delivery system for targeted drug transport into prostate and lung cancer cells.

Predictors of survival and eradication of Mycobacterium avium complex bacteremia (MAC) in AIDS patients in the Canadian randomized MAC treatment trial. Canadian HIV Trials Network Protocol 010 Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the importance of baseline characteristics including medical history, indicators of current disease status, therapeutic drug use, in vitro drug susceptibility, immune status and mycobacterial load on bacteriologic response and survival in HIV-positive patients with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) bacteremia. DESIGN: An observational substudy of an open-label randomized controlled trial of two alternative therapeutic regimens for MAC. SETTING: Twenty-four hospital-based HIV clinics in 16 Canadian cities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were survival and bacteriologic response, defined by consecutive negative blood cultures for MAC at least 2 weeks apart within 16 weeks of study entry. RESULTS: Prior AIDS diagnosis, low Karnofsky score, active unstable AIDS-related conditions, absence of antiretroviral therapy and absence of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia prophylaxis were associated with shorter survival by univariate regression using the proportional hazards model. On multivariate analysis, antiretroviral therapy was not an independent predictor of mortality, and previous rifabutin prophylaxis was independently associated with poor survival outcomes, a result consistent across study treatment. Using a logistic regression model, baseline quantitative mycobacterial load [relative odds of clearing, 1.97 for a decrease of 1 log10 colony forming count; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.36-2.87; P < 0.001] and Karnofsky score were the only statistically significant univariate predictors of clearance, although previous prophylaxis with rifabutin was also a significant predictor in a multivariate model (relative odds of clearing, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17-0.88; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that although the level of MAC bacteremia is an important predictor of clearance, it is not associated with survival.

Epidemiology of bacteremic urinary tract infections in chronically hospitalized elderly men.

We sought to determine the contribution of pathogen-specific factors to the pathogenesis of invasive urinary tract infections in chronically institutionalized elderly men with symptomatic bacteriuria. We found that Escherichia coli was the most invasive pathogen, being found in 46% of the bacteremic as opposed to 25% of the nonbacteremic, rigorously defined urinary tract infections (p less than 0.01). The predominance of E. coli in bacteremic urinary tract infections was observed regardless of whether indwelling urinary drainage devices were used. The finding that E. coli accounted for a greater proportion of bacteremic than nonbacteremic urinary tract infections indicates that bacteremia arising from the geriatric urinary tract is not simply a consequence of mechanical factors, such as urinary tract obstruction. Thus, further investigations are warranted to assess the specific contribution of previously defined E. coli virulence factors to the pathogenesis of urinary tract infections in such patients.

Blastocystis hominis: epidemiology and natural history.

To study the demographic profile of Blastocystis hominis carriers from Hamilton, Canada, the Regional Parasitology Laboratory records for 1988 were reviewed, and a prospective study on carriers was conducted to clarify the natural history of the infection and ascertain the role of B. hominis as an intestinal pathogen. Retrospective analysis revealed that 8% of stool samples harbored B. hominis. The median age of the carriers was 37 years; 55% were female. Prospective analysis of 139 patients showed that most (76%) of 86 in whom B. hominis was the sole organism found (and for whom data were complete) continued to harbor the parasite in stool samples submitted a median of 57 days after the first sample. There was no correlation between the presence of B. hominis and symptoms. Thus, B. hominis, though commonly seen in stool samples submitted to this laboratory, is thought to be a commensal organism.

Parasitology: diagnostic yield of stool examination.

To assess the need for routinely submitting three stool samples per patient for recovery of enteric parasites, we reviewed the records of our parasitology laboratory for 1985-87 to determine the number of parasites that would not have been detected if only one or two samples had been submitted. A total of 16% of all stool samples were positive. For each sample that was positive for a parasite (index sample) a search was done for other stool samples, positive or negative, received from the same patient within 6 days of reception of the index sample. We identified 676 sets of two (276) or three (400) samples of which at least 1 was positive. A total of 93% of the enteric parasites were detected in the first sample in the two-sample sets. Among the three-sample sets 90% of the parasites were detected in the first sample, 8% in the second and 2% in the third. We recommend waiting for the result from the first stool sample rather than routinely submitting three samples for recovery of enteric parasites.