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.
To determine the abilities of salivary E‐cadherin to differentiate between periodontal health and periodontitis and to discriminate grades of periodontitis.
E‐cadherin is the main protein responsible for maintaining the integrity of epithelial‐barrier function. Disintegration of this protein is one of the events associated with the destructive forms of periodontal disease leading to increase concentration of E‐cadherin in the oral biofluids.
A total of 63 patients with periodontitis (case) and 35
Derivatives of Schiff-bases possess a great importance in pharmaceutical chemistry. They can be used for synthesizing different types of bioactive compounds. In this paper, derivatives of new Schiff bases have been synthesized from several serial steps. The acid (I) was synthesized from the reaction of dichloroethanoic acid with 2 moles of p-aminoacetanilide. New acid (I) converted to its ester (II) via the reaction of (I) with dimethyl sulphate in the present of anhydrous of sodium carbonate and dry acetone. Acid hydrazide (III) has been synthesized by adding 80% of hydrazine hydrate to the new ester using ethanol as a solvent. The last step included the preparation of new Schiff-bases (IV-VIII) by the reaction of acid hydrazide with
... Show MoreThis study aims to simulate and assess the hydraulic characteristics and residual chlorine in the water supply network of a selected area in Al-Najaf City using WaterGEMS software. Field and laboratory work were conducted to measure the pressure heads and velocities, and water was sampled from different sites in the network and then tested to estimate chlorine residual. Records and field measurements were utilized to validate WaterGEMS software. Good agreement was obtained between the observed and predicted values of pressure with RMSE range between 0.09–0.17 and 0.08–0.09 for chlorine residual. The results of the analysis of water distribution systems (WDS) during maximum demand
Data Driven Requirement Engineering (DDRE) represents a vision for a shift from the static traditional methods of doing requirements engineering to dynamic data-driven user-centered methods. Data available and the increasingly complex requirements of system software whose functions can adapt to changing needs to gain the trust of its users, an approach is needed in a continuous software engineering process. This need drives the emergence of new challenges in the discipline of requirements engineering to meet the required changes. The problem in this study was the method in data discrepancies which resulted in the needs elicitation process being hampered and in the end software development found discrepancies and could not meet the need
... Show MoreThis paper numerically and theoretically investigates the optical and thermal performance of a parabolic trough collector PTC system. Many numerical simulations and theoretical analyses are conducted to demonstrate the influence of the receiver geometry and shifting from the focal position on the optical performance. The examined receiver geometries are circular, square, triangular, elliptical, and the new circular–square combined geometry is named as channel receiver. The thermal performance of PTC is examined for different volume flow rates theoretically in the range of (0.36 to 2.4 lpm). The results show that the best optical design is the channel receiver with an intercept factor of 84%, while the worst is the elliptical receiver with
... Show MoreNanofiltration (NF) ceramic membrane have found increasing applications particularly in wastewater and water treatment. In order to estimate and optimize the performance of NF membranes, the membrane should be characterized correctly in terms of their basic parameters such as effective pore radius (rp) and equivalent effective thickness as well as effective surface charge ( ), the effective charge density ( ) and Donnan potential ( ). The impact of electrokinetic (zeta) potential on the membrane surface charge density, effective membrane charge density and Donnan potential at two different concentrations of the reference solutions 0.001, 0.01 M sodium chloride at various pH values from 3 to 9, and effective po
... Show MoreIn the latest years there has been a profound evolution in computer science and technology, which incorporated several fields. Under this evolution, Content Base Image Retrieval (CBIR) is among the image processing field. There are several image retrieval methods that can easily extract feature as a result of the image retrieval methods’ progresses. To the researchers, finding resourceful image retrieval devices has therefore become an extensive area of concern. Image retrieval technique refers to a system used to search and retrieve images from digital images’ huge database. In this paper, the author focuses on recommendation of a fresh method for retrieving image. For multi presentation of image in Convolutional Neural Network (CNN),
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