Polypeptide-Based Systems: From Synthesis to Application in Drug Delivery.

Synthetic polypeptides are biocompatible and biodegradable macromolecules whose composition and architecture can vary over a wide range. Their unique ability to form secondary structures, as well as different pathways of modification and biofunctionalization due to the diversity of amino acids, provide variation in the physicochemical and biological properties of polypeptide-containing materials. In this review article, we summarize the advances in the synthesis of polypeptides and their copolymers and the application of these systems for drug delivery in the form of (nano)particles or hydrogels. The issues, such as the diversity of polypeptide-containing (nano)particle types, the methods for their preparation and drug loading, as well as the influence of physicochemical characteristics on stability, degradability, cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, hemolysis, and immunogenicity of polypeptide-containing nanoparticles and their drug formulations, are comprehensively discussed. Finally, recent advances in the development of certain drug nanoformulations for peptides, proteins, gene delivery, cancer therapy, and antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory systems are summarized.

Volatilized Molten Salts: An Alternative Avenue for Synthesizing Single-Phase Perovskites.

Single-phase La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) has been synthesized using a volatilized molten salt synthesis (vMSS) method for the first time with a LiCl-KCl eutectic with diameters of up to 300 nm, with the majority ranging from 50 to 100 nm. While deleterious to LSM formation when the MSS takes place in the liquid phase, a LiCl-KCl eutectic successfully facilitates LSM formation when volatilized. Specifically, KCl evaporates more readily than LiCl and promotes the formation of LSM via the vapor phase. As time progresses, LiCl volatilization increases and contributes negatively to Sr stoichiometry in the perovskite phase in accordance with Lux-Flood chemistry and to product phase purity. The vMSS is therefore a way to obviate the more immediate restrictions of Lux-Flood chemistry in the liquid phase. These results demonstrate the surprising versatility and flexibility of the MSS method to synthesize numerous potential energy-relevant materials with greater ease than previously thought.

Extending the Near-Infrared Emission Range of Indium Phosphide Quantum Dots for Multiplexed In Vivo Imaging.

This report of the reddest emitting indium phosphide quantum dots (InP QDs) to date demonstrates tunable, near-infrared (NIR) photoluminescence (PL) as well as PL multiplexing in the first optical tissue window while avoiding toxic constituents. This synthesis overcomes the InP "growth bottleneck" and extends the emission peak of InP QDs deeper into the first optical tissue window using an inverted QD heterostructure, specifically ZnSe/InP/ZnS core/shell/shell nanoparticles. The QDs exhibit InP shell thickness-dependent tunable emission with peaks ranging from 515-845 nm. The high absorptivity of InP yields effective photoexcitation of the QDs with UV, visible, and NIR wavelengths. These nanoparticles extend the range of tunable direct-bandgap emission from InP-based nanostructures, effectively overcoming a synthetic barrier that has prevented InP-based QDs from reaching their full potential as NIR imaging agents. Multiplexed lymph node imaging in a mouse model demonstrates the potential of the NIR-emitting InP particles for in vivo imaging.

Mental health care reforms in Europe: Rehabilitation and social inclusion of people with mental illness in Russia.

Long-established Medico-Social Expert Commissions (MSECs) play a pivotal role in the Russian mental health system. They act as gatekeepers to pensions, rehabilitation, and employment services. This column describes their role in encouraging or impeding the social inclusion of people with mental illness, drawing on findings of a three-year project in Sverdlovsk Oblast. In Russia the emphasis remains on medical aspects of treatment, without adequate consideration of social and occupational rehabilitation. Links with local employment services are weak. To promote social inclusion, steps must be taken to encourage and facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the MSECs, employment services, and medical services.

Mental health reform in the Russian Federation: an integrated approach to achieve social inclusion and recovery.

OBJECTIVE: To facilitate mental health reform in one Russian oblast (region) using systematic approaches to policy design and implementation. METHODS: The authors undertook a three-year action-research programme across three pilot sites, comprising a multifaceted set of interventions combining situation appraisal to inform planning, sustained policy dialogue at federal and regional levels to catalyse change, introduction of multidisciplinary and intersectoral-working at all levels, skills-based training for professionals, and support for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to develop new care models. FINDINGS: Training programmes developed in this process have been adopted into routine curricula with measurable changes in staff skills. Approaches to care improved through multidisciplinary and multisectoral service delivery, with an increase in NGO activities, user involvement in care planning and delivery in all pilot sites. Hospital admissions at start and end of the study fell in two pilot sites, while the rate of readmissions in all three pilot sites by 2006 was below that for the region as a whole. Lessons learned have informed the development of regional and federal mental health policies. CONCLUSION: A multifaceted and comprehensive programme can be effective in overcoming organizational barriers to the introduction of evidence-based multisectoral interventions in one Russian region. This can help facilitate significant and sustainable changes in policy and reduce institutionalization.

Health system factors impacting on delivery of mental health services in Russia: multi-methods study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how the regulatory environment and health system organisation, financing and provider payment systems influence the delivery of mental health services in the Sverdlovsk region of the Russian Federation. METHODS: A multi-methods study was conducted including analysis of routine data and key informant interviews supplemented by analysis of published literature, legal and regulatory documents, ministerial orders and reports. RESULTS: Mental health care services are still largely provided in hospitals, although the need for more community-based and rehabilitation services is widely recognised. Resource allocation and provider payment systems remain largely unchanged from Soviet times and favour large inpatient institutions, creating incentives for hospitals to maintain a large number of beds and staff. Community-based social services and human resources remain limited, especially in the areas of social work, housing support and vocational rehabilitation, but co-operation across sectors at local level is growing. CONCLUSION: In Russia, the pace of reform in the mental health system will be helped if financial resource allocation mechanisms and provider payment systems are also reformed, so that resources follow individuals regardless of where they are treated. Such major health system shifts can only be achieved through changes at the Federal level and require major political will. Additional transitional funding is also required to help develop the necessary alternative community-based services. The nature of mental health disorders mean that this is not a problem faced within the health system alone, greater attention needs to be placed also on how to maximise the cross sector benefits especially with the social protection and employment sectors.

Chromosome alterations in cleanup workers sampled years after the Chernobyl accident.

Cytogenetic analysis performed 4-13 years after the Chernobyl accident showed an elevated frequency of acentrics, chromatid exchanges, dicentrics and rings in Chernobyl cleanup workers compared to the control group. Cytogenetic data were analyzed according to the information on exposure to radiation (the year when the cleanup workers worked at the Chernobyl station, doses rates, time elapsed since exposure to radiation, and cytogenetic examination) and some lifestyle factors. The data obtained suggested that some types of chromosome aberrations could be influenced by the action of different environmental factors or lifestyle factors. The frequency of acentrics was correlated with the age of the cleanup workers, and the increased chromatid exchange frequency was attributed to smoking. The numbers of dicentrics and rings suggested a genotoxic effect of ionizing radiation that is still present over 13 years after the exposure.