We report a new theranostic device based on lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) with optical emission in the near infrared wavelength range decorated with affibodies (small 6.5 kDa protein-based antibody replacements) specific to the cancer biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and zinc(II) protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) to combine imaging, targeting and therapy within one nanostructure. Colloidal PbS QDs were synthesized in aqueous solution with a nanocrystal diameter of ∼5 nm and photoluminescence emission in the near infrared wavelength range. The ZHER2:432 affibody, mutated through the introduction of two cysteine residues at the C-terminus (Afb2C), was used as capping ligand to form Afb2C-PbS QDs that have a high binding affinity for HER2, which is overexpressed in several types of cancer including breast cancer. Afb2C-PbS QDs were further modified by conjugation with ZnPP, which acts as an anticancer agent. The biological activity of these QDs was tested against SKBR3 (HER2-positive) and MDA-MB-231 (HER2-normal) breast cancer cells, with results showing that ZnPP-Afb2C-functionalized PbS QDs were successfully targeted to the HER2-overexpressing cancer cells and induced cell apoptosis thanks to the conjugation with ZnPP. These results expand the use of the QD nanoplatform with the formulation of novel nanomaterials for targeted delivery and combined imaging and therapy via direct surface-protein interaction.
It is generally accepted that there are two spectrophotometric techniques for quantifying ceftazidime (CFT) in bulk medications and pharmaceutical formulations. The methods are described as simple, sensitive, selective, accurate and efficient techniques. The first method used an alkaline medium to convert ceftazidime to its diazonium salt, which is then combined with the 1-Naphthol (1-NPT) and 2-Naphthol (2-NPT) reagents. The azo dye that was produced brown and red in color with absorption intensities of ƛmax 585 and 545nm respectively. Beer's law was followed in terms of concentration ranging from (3-40) µg .ml-1 For (CFT-1-NPT) and (CFT-2-NPT), the detection limits were 1.0096 and 0.8017 µg.ml-1, respec
... Show MoreThis encapsulates the general relationship between plant and bacteria in the natural and agricultural ecosystem. It is based on the activities of useful bacteria, such as plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPRs) and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, in promoting plant growth and plant tolerance to stressful situations regarding pollution, salinity, and drought. The article also mentions that the bacteria maintain plant health by secretion of phytohormones, nitrogen fixation, solubilization of phosphate, and production of antibiotics against pathogenic bacteria. The article also mentions the existing applications of the interaction in sustainable agriculture and bioremediation of contaminated soils.
Simple, cheap, sensitive, and accurate kinetic- spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of naringenin in pure and supplements formulations. The method is based on the formation of Prussian blue. The product dye exhibits a maximum absorbance at 707 nm. The calibration graph of naringenin was linear over the range 0.3 to 10 µg ml-1 for the fixed time method (at 15 min) with a correlation coefficient (r) and percentage linearity (r2%) were of 0.9995 and 99.90 %, respectively, while the limit of detection LOD was 0.041 µg ml-1. The method was successfully applied for the determination of naringenin in supplements with satisfac
... Show MoreThin film solar cells are preferable to the researchers and in applications due to the minimum material usage and to the rising of their efficiencies. In particular, thin film solar cells, which are designed based one transition metal chalcogenide materials, paly an essential role in solar energy conversion market. In this paper, transition metals with chalcogenide Nickel selenide termed as (NiSe2/Si) are synthesized. To this end, polycrystalline NiSe2 thin films are deposited through the use of vacuum evaporation technique under vacuum of 2.1x10-5 mbar, which are supplied to different annealing temperatures. The results show that under an annealed temperature of 525 K,
... Show More74 fanners were randomily selected from the Lc:ital. of 406 fanners using the Modern Irrigation System up to November , 2000 , for the purpose of wide adoptation of such system. Rcsults indicated according to the data which has been obtained and statistically analysed by the statistical package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program showed that the majority of the farmers adopted this new system of irrigation due to the increase in the yield up to 5" .
An accurate assessment of the pipes’ conditions is required for effective management of the trunk sewers. In this paper the semi-Markov model was developed and tested using the sewer dataset from the Zublin trunk sewer in Baghdad, Iraq, in order to evaluate the future performance of the sewer. For the development of this model the cumulative waiting time distribution of sewers was used in each condition that was derived directly from the sewer condition class and age data. Results showed that the semi-Markov model was inconsistent with the data by adopting ( 2 test) and also, showed that the error in prediction is due to lack of data on the sewer waiting times at each condition state which can be solved by using successive conditi
... Show MoreThe work includes fabrication of undoped and silver-doped nanostructured nickel oxide in form thin films, which use for applications such as gas sensors. Pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique was used to fabricate the films on a glass substrate. The structure of films is studied by using techniques of x-ray diffraction, SEM, and EDX. Thermal annealing was performed on these films at 450°C to introduce its effect on the characteristics of these films. The films were doped with a silver element at different doping levels and both electrical and gas sensing characteristics were studied and compared to those of the undoped films. Reasonable enhancements in these characteristics were observed and attributed to the effects of thermal annealing
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