Stabilisation by freeze-drying of cationically modified silica nanoparticles for gene delivery.

Core shell silica particles with a hydrodynamic diameter of 28nm, an IEP of 7.1 and a zeta potential of +35mV at pH 4.0 were synthesised. The role of freeze-drying for the conservation of zwitterionic nanoparticles and the usefulness of different lyoprotective agents (LPA) for the minimisation of particle aggregation were studied. The activity of the nanoparticles was measured as DNA-binding capacity and transfection efficiency in Cos-1 cells before and after lyophilisation. It was found that massive aggregation occurred in the absence of LPA. Of the various LPAs screened in the present investigations, trehalose and glycerol were found to be well suited for conservation of cationically modified silica nanoparticles with simultaneous preservation of their DNA-binding and transfection activity in Cos-1 cells.

Studies on ion distribution in living cells. II. Cooperative interaction between intracellular potassium and sodium ions.

New steady levels of K(+) and Na(+) ion in frog sartorius muscle were reached in 72 hr at 25 degrees C in environments containing 100-mM Na(+)-ion and K(+)-ion concentrations varying from near zero to 10 mM. These steady levels follow a pattern predicted by a cooperative adsorption isotherm presented in 1964. From a total of 13 sets of experiments carried out over a five year period, the average concentration of adsorption sites is 109 mumoles/g of fresh cells. The average intrinsic equilibrium constant for the Na --> K exchange is 135, and the average free energy of nearest neighbor interaction is 0.54 kcal/mole. These values are in good agreement with those obtained by Jones and Karreman from studies on canine carotid arteries.