Radioactive Seed Localization for Non-Breast Tissue Excision.

Lymph nodes are common basins for cancer recurrence; however, during surgery, lymphatic tissue is often indistinguishable from surrounding tissue making local excision difficult. Novel breast surgery techniques have utilized radioactive seed localization (RSL) to preoperatively tag tissue so it can be identified intraoperatively with a gamma probe. Our goal was to assess the use of RSL in non-breast tissues. This was a retrospective case series of non-breast cancer patients undergoing RSL. Overall, 42 patients met inclusion criteria. Pathology results indicated benign findings in 20 patients (47.62%), toxoplasma in 1 patient (2.38%), non-necrotizing granulomatous disease in 2 patients (4.76%), and malignant progression in 19 patients (45.24%). Two patients had non-lymphatic tissue removed: one in the abdominal wall and one in the lower lumbar region. Radioactive seed localization is an effective technique to localize and excise non-palpable lymph nodes and masses identified on imaging, highlighting its wide variety of uses in non-breast cancer cases.

The microstructure of collagen type I gel cross-linked with gold nanoparticles.

Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, rheometry, and electrochemistry were used to provide insight into the microstructure of collagen type I gel (1%, w/v) modified with the tiopronin-protected (N-(2-mercaptopropionyl)glycine) gold nanoparticles (TPAu), a multivalent crosslinker. The cross-linking reaction, performed via EDC (1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide) coupling, results in compliant, mechanically stable and continuous gels. The gels contain unusual interconnected collagen-TPAu particles. Electrochemical measurements of 4-hydroxy-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl) (4HT) diffusion within the gel reveal that the gel hindrance is nearly independent of the TPAu concentration. The properties of the collagen-TPAu gel make it suitable for potential biomedical applications, such as delivery of small molecule drugs.