Effects of Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, and Liposomal Doxorubicin (Anthracycline) on cardiac function in patients with osteosarcoma and their influencing factors.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, and Liposomal Doxorubicin (Anthracycline) on cardiac function in osteosarcoma patients and analyze the factors influencing this effect. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 165 osteosarcoma patients admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to December 2022. Based on the chemotherapy regimen, the patients were divided into two groups: the control group (n = 62) treated with Cisplatin and cyclophosphamide, and the observation group (n = 103) treated with Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, and Liposomal Doxorubicin (Anthracycline). The general records of both groups were analyzed, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was evaluated through echocardiography before and after chemotherapy. Blood cTnT and CK-MB levels were measured using immunoluminescence. The incidence of adverse reactions during chemotherapy was also analyzed. Univariate analysis was performed to identify patients with cardiotoxic events, and multiple logistic regression analysis was done to study the effects of Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, Liposomal Doxorubicin, and their dosages on cardiotoxicity in patients. RESULTS: The general records between the two groups showed no significant differences (P > 0.05). However, at the fourth cycle of chemotherapy, the observation group exhibited a lower LVEF (P < 0.05), and a higher percentage of LVEF decrease compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the observation group had higher levels of blood cTnT and CK-MB (P < 0.05). The incidence of cardiotoxicity in the observation group was also higher (P < 0.05), but no significant differences were seen in other adverse reaction rates (P > 0.05). The occurrence of cardiotoxicity was found to be related to the choice and dosage of chemotherapy drugs (P < 0.05), but not significantly correlated with age, sex, and mediastinal irradiation in patients (P > 0.05). Furthermore, the use of Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, and Liposomal Doxorubicin in chemotherapy, as well as an increase in their dosages, was found to elevate the risk of cardiotoxicity in osteosarcoma patients (P < 0.05). However, age, sex, and mediastinal radiation were not significantly associated with cardiotoxicity in osteosarcoma patients (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that Doxorubicin, Epirubicin, Liposomal Doxorubicin (Anthracycline), and other drugs adversely affected cardiac function in osteosarcoma patients, increasing the risk of cardiac toxicity. Therefore, close monitoring of cardiac function during chemotherapy is crucial, and timely adjustments to the chemotherapy regimen are necessary. In addition, rational control of drug selection and dosage is essential to minimize the occurrence of cardiac toxicity.

A feasible strategy to balance the performance of stereo-complexed polylactide by incorporating poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate).

The raw material of polylactide (PLA) is lactic acid obtained by biological fermentation. PLA is the most promising degradable polymer to replace traditional plastics to address the pollution problems caused by their non-degradability. However, the application of PLA is hindered by its low softening temperature, easy hydrolysis, and poor toughness. Herein, the ternary composites with PLLA, PDLA and Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) were prepared by melt blending to balance its thermal stability, hydrolysis, and toughness. The effects of PBAT content (3 %, 6 %, 9 % and 12 %) and isothermal crystallization temperature on composite properties were fully investigated. The results show that the composite of stereo-complexed PLA (sc-PLA) with 6 % PBAT crystallized at 110 °C exhibits good comprehensive properties. Its vicat softening temperature (VST), mass loss rate under alkaline (pH = 12) and breaking elongation are 166 °C, 21.6 % and 4.40 %, respectively. Compared with the pure PLLA sample crystallized at same condition, the VST, mass loss rate and breaking elongation are 159 °C, 24.7 % and 3.76 % respectively, which increased by nearly 5 %, 13 % and 20 %. This indicates that this strategy is feasible to balance the heat resistance, hydrolysis resistance and toughness of PLA, while it sacrifices the tensile strength a little. This work provides a new way to modify and improve the PLA properties. Nonetheless, it is also necessary to coordinate the compatibility of PLA and PBAT.

Tough and On-Demand Detachable Wet Tissue Adhesive Hydrogel Made from Catechol Derivatives with a Long Aliphatic Side Chain.

Wet adhesion is critical in cases of wound closure, but it is usually deterred by the hydration layer on tissues. Inspired by dopamine-mediated underwater adhesion in mussel foot proteins, wet tissue adhesives containing catechol with 2-3 carbons side chains are reported mostly. To make wet adhesion of this type of adhesives much tougher, catechol derivatives with a long aliphatic side chain (≈10 atoms length) are synthesized. Then, a series of strong wet tissue adhesive hydrogels are prepared through photoinduced copolymerization of acrylic acid with synthetic monomers. The adhesive hydrogel has a high cohesion strength, that is, tensile strength and strain, and toughness of ≈1800 kPa, ≈540%, and ≈4100 kJ m-3 , respectively. Its interfacial toughness on wet and underwater porcine skin is respectively ≈1300 and ≈1100 J m-2 , and its adhesion strength to wet porcine skin is ≈153 kPa. These values are much higher than those of dopamine-based adhesives in the same conditions, demonstrating that the long aliphatic side chain on catechol can greatly improve the wet tissue-adhesion. Additionally, the tough interfacial adhesion can be broken on demand with 5 wt.% aqueous urea solution. This adhesive hydrogel is highly promising in safe wound closure.

Fabrication of eco-friendly and efficient flame retardant modified cellulose with antibacterial property.

Flame retardant and antibacterial investigation of cellulose has attracted more and more attention. In order to improve the modification efficiency, inspired by multiple hydrogen bonding in spider silk, flame retardant and antibacterial dual function modified cellulose was achieved by multi structure hydrogen bonding in this research. A novel nano SiO2 based Schiff base flame retardant (SiAPH) and dodecyl quaternary ammonium salt (HDAC) were synthesized. Tannin (TA) was introduced as medium to provide synergistic flame retardant and antibacterial with SiAPH and HDAC. The flame retardancy assessment demonstrated that the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of modified cotton fabrics increased from 18% to 26.1%, and the peak of heat release rate (pHRR) decreased by 41.0%, UL-94 vertical combustion proved the modified cotton fabrics had capability of self-extinguishing. The antibacterial of modified fabrics were confirmed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and the inhibition rate reached to 99.1%. In addition, it worth noting that the biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of modified fabrics were evaluated via MTS assay and establishment of animal wound model. Low toxicity of the fabrics was verified by the L929 fibroblast cells. The anti-infection experiment model showed that the modified fabrics had a positive effect on prevention of infection, and the wound healing rate reached to 86.8% after 14 days' treatment. The flame retardancy, antibacterial and biocompatibility of the functional cotton fabrics indicated that they were ideal candidate for applications of vehicle interior, soft decoration in public and medical scene.

Self-assembly of amino acid-based random copolymers for antibacterial application and infection treatment as nanocarriers.

Bacterial infection is one of the most significant complications worldwide and has been one of the main factors of morbidity and mortality for the chronic wounds. Considering the negative charged feature of bacterial pathogens, a positive charged poly(ester amide) (PEA) micellar system based on lysine, arginine and phenylalanine is developed. In this study, a serials of PEA random copolymers can be obtained by altering the sorts of amino acids and feed ratio, and the self-assembled PEA micelles with an average diameter ranging from 150 to 200 nm exhibit the integrated properties of excellent biocompatibility and enzymatic biodegradation. More interesting, the degraded random block micelles can reassemble into smaller sized micelles with the diameter less than 20 nm which have promising applications in drug delivery. The PEA micellar nanocarriers display an intrinsic antibacterial property due to the pendant groups of lysine and arginine based moieties and this killing capacity can be enhanced by grafting levofloxacin without losing the original performance. The in vitro antibacterial evaluation proves all of the micelles display a concentration dependent efficiency of killing bacteria (up to 99.99%). The in vivo Staphylococcus aureus induced infection model demonstrates that the micelles are effective in killing the bacteria and infection treatment. The successful synthesis of the biocompatible and biodegradable amino acid based micellar nanocarriers may provide new insights into the development of biomedical materials for antibacterial applications and drug delivery.

Hydrophilic and degradable polyesters based on l-aspartic acid with antibacterial properties for potential application in hernia repair.

A polyester hernia patch has received extensive attention in mesh hernia repair. However, it is still a challenge to develop polyester-based implants with inherent antibacterial properties due to the lack of active functional groups. In this study, poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene aspartate) (PBSA) was constructed by introducing aspartic acid on a polybutylene succinate (PBS) polyester chain (PBSA). Antimicrobial treatment was conducted by grafting levofloxacin (Lv) on the surface of a PBSA polymer (PBSA-g-Lv). In vitro antibacterial test results showed that PBSA-g-Lv had sufficient local antimicrobiotic effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and no side effect on L929 cells was observed. Furthermore, almost no change was observed in the thermodynamic properties of PBS and PBSA; in vivo tests demonstrated that this contact-active antibacterial PBSA-g-Lv nanofiber is a promising material to fulfill the dual functions of promoting tissue regeneration and preventing bacterial infection. The presented data confirmed that an antibiotic surface modification of PBSA polyesters was expected to be used as hernia repair materials.

Hyaluronic Acid and Polyethylene Glycol Hybrid Hydrogel Encapsulating Nanogel with Hemostasis and Sustainable Antibacterial Property for Wound Healing.

Immediate hemorrhage control and anti-infection play important roles in the wound management. Besides, a moist environment is also beneficial for wound healing. Hydrogels are promising materials in urgent hemostasis and drug release. However, hydrogels have the disadvantage of rapid release profiles, leading to the exposure to high drug concentrations. In this study, we constructed hybrid hydrogels with rapid hemostasis and sustainable antibacterial property combining aminoethyl methacrylate hyaluronic acid (HA-AEMA) and methacrylated methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG-MA) hybrid hydrogels and chlorhexidine diacetate (CHX)-loaded nanogels. The CHX-loaded nanogels (CLNs) were prepared by the enzyme degradation of CHX-loaded lysine-based hydrogels. The HA-AEMA and mPEG-MA hybrid hydrogel loaded with CLNs (labeled as Gel@CLN) displayed a three-dimensional microporous structure and exhibited excellent swelling, mechanical property, and low cytotoxicity. The Gel@CLN hydrogel showed a prolonged release period of CHX over 240 h and the antibacterial property over 10 days. The hemostasis and wound-healing properties were evaluated in vivo using a mouse model. The results showed that hydrogel had the rapid hemostasis capacity and accelerated wound healing. In summary, CLN-loaded hydrogels may be excellent candidates as hemostasis and anti-infection materials for the wound dressing application.

Dynamic covalent linked triblock copolymer micelles for glutathione-mediated intracellular drug delivery.

Redox-responsive linkages dispersed in the backbones of the synthetic polymers, while young in the current spectrum of the biomedical application, are rapidly extending into their niche. In the present work, triblock copolymer PEG-PLA-PEG synthesized and characterized by 1H -NMR and SEC can self-assemble into redox-responsive micelles in aqueous media with nanosized 33nm and 47nm. And the copolymers PEG2000-PLA3000-PEG2000 and PEG2000-PLA5000-PEG2000 present lower CMC with 0.034 and 0.022mg/mL, and higher DLC of 4.28% and 5.14% respectively, compared with that of diblock copolymer. Moreover, drug release from the micelles can be triggered and significantly accelerated in reductive environment. The low cytotoxicity of redox-responsive micelles was confirmed by MTT assay against NIH 3T3 cells. All of these results demonstrated that these polymeric micelles self-assembled from double-disulfide tethered block copolymers are promising carriers for the redox-responsive intracellular delivery of hydrophobic anticancer drugs.

Efficient and reusable polyamide-56 nanofiber/nets membrane with bimodal structures for air filtration.

Nanofibrous media that both possess high airborne particle interception efficiency and robust air permeability would have broad technological implications for areas ranging from individual protection and industrial security to environmental governance; however, creating such filtration media has proved extremely challenging. Here we report a strategy to construct the bio-based polyamide-56 nanofiber/nets (PA-56 NFN) membranes with bimodal structures for effective air filtration via one-step electrospinning/netting. The PA-56 membranes are composed of completely covered two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin (∼20 nm) nanonets which are optimized by facilely regulating the solution concentration, and the bonded scaffold fibers constructed cavity structures which are synchronously created by using the CH3COOH inspiration. With integrated properties of small aperture, high porosity, and bonded scaffold, the resulting PA-56 NFN membranes exhibit high filtration efficiency of 99.995%, low pressure drop of 111 Pa, combined with large dust holding capacity of 49 g/m(2) and dust-cleaning regeneration ability, for filtrating ultrafine airborne particles in the most safe manner involving sieving principle and surface filtration. The successful synthesis of PA-56 NFN medium would not only make it a promising candidate for air filtration, but also provide new insights into the design and development of nanonet-based bimodal structures for various applications.

Preparation of poly(cyclooctene)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCOE-g-PEG) graft copolymers with tunable PEG side chains via ROMP and its protein adsorption and platelet adhesion properties.

In our previous work [H. Shi, D. Shi et al., Polymer Chemistry 2(2011)679-684], polycyclooctene-g-PEG (PCOE-g-PEG) copolymers were synthesized via ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) from PEG functionalized cyclic olefin macromonomers and cyclooctene. The grafting degree and the grafting site were easily controlled through the "grafting through" approach. The PCOE-g-PEG film surface was imparted excellent anti-protein adsorption properties. In that work, the molecular weight of PEG side chain was fixed at 750 g/mol and the neat PEG content in the copolymer was lower than 50 wt.%. In this work, both the effects of PEG side chain lengths (350 to 1000 g/mol) at a fixed PEG content (50 wt.%) and the neat PEG content (30 wt.% to 70 wt.%) at a fixed PEG molecular weight (750 g/mol) on the anti-protein adsorption and anti-platelet adhesion properties are studied. It is shown that the copolymer with 60 wt.% PEG side chains of 750 g/mol, where both PEG and PCOE form continuous morphology, is optimal to reduce the adsorption of both the bovine serum albumin (BSA) and platelet. When the PEG content reaches 70 wt.%, phase inversion happens. PEG is the continuous phase but PCOE becomes the dispersed phase. The surface roughness of the casting PCOE-g-PEG film increases. In this case, both BSA adsorption and platelet adhesion will slightly increase comparing to the sample with 60 wt.% PEG.

Highly selective dummy molecularly imprinted polymer as a solid-phase extraction sorbent for five bisphenols in tap and river water.

A simple and fast method for both dummy template selection and polymer composition optimization is proposed here. A series of dummy templates for bisphenols imprinting were screened by running them on a non-imprinted polymer (NIP) column with porogen solvent as mobile phase. The tested dummy templates mainly involved bisphenol S (BPS), bromobisphenol A (TBBPA), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol B (BPB), bisphenol AF (BPAF), 2,2',6,6'-tetramethyl-4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol (BS-TM) and 4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane (DADPM). Different monomers and porogens were also investigated for BPS and DADPM using the same method. BPS dummy template was finally selected with acetonitrile and 4-VP as porogen and monomer. The resulting dummy molecularly imprinted polymer (DMIP) achieved superior affinities for BPF, BPE, BPA, BPB and BPAF with imprinting factors 14.5, 13.8, 8.7, 5.7 and 4.2, respectively. An efficient method based on BPS-DMIP-SPE coupled with HPLC-UV was developed for selective extraction of BPF, BPE, BPA, BPB and BPAF in water samples. The method showed excellent recoveries (89.4-102.0%) and precision (RSD 0.3-4.8%, n=5) for tap and river water samples spiked at three concentration levels each (40, 200 and 1000ngL(-1)). The detection limits ranged between 2.2 and 3.8ngL(-1) with a sample volume of 500mL. The result demonstrated the superiority of the optimized method for selective extraction of BPs in water samples at the ngL(-1) level.

[Feasibility of genetic polymorphisms analysis using genomic DNA obtained from human buccal cells].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Using DNA samples obtained from buccal cells for genetic polymorphism analysis in molecular epidemiological studies has been repeatedly reported, but whether DNA from food remnants in mouth influences the result is still concerned. This study was to compare genetic polymorphisms of buccal cell DNA with those of buffy coat DNA, and with plant and animal DNA from foods to rule out the possibility of interference from food remnants, to improve technique of buccal cell collection and elevate DNA yield. METHODS: Buccal cells were collected from mouthwash (40 ml/case) of 62 subjects, and fixed with isopropyl alcohol; buffy coats of peripheral blood were collected from 30 of these subjects. Common foods (rice, greengrocery, soybean, apple, pork, beef, chicken, and duck) were also collected. DNA of all samples was extracted by chloroform-phenol method. NAT2, GSTM1, GSTT1, CYP1A1, and CYP2E1 genetic polymorphisms were assayed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. Alu (human mutual DNA sequence) was also tested. RESULTS: DNA yield of 62 individual mouthwash samples was (135.15+/-64.30) microg (22.36-330.70 microg); 30 individual mouthwash samples contained 75%-95% oral epithelial cells with DNA yield of (143.44+/-61.64) microg (51.01-283.58 microg). DNA yield of 30 buffy coat samples was (91.19+/-38.01) microg (30.83-178.63 microg). Electrophoresis showed that all 62 buccal cell samples and 30 buffy coat samples contained DNA fragments in high molecular weight; beta-globin, Alu, NAT2, GSTM1, GSTT1, CYP1A1, and CYP2E1 gene fragments were successfully amplified from 61 buccal cells samples and 30 buffy coat samples, which showed no difference between the 2 kinds of samples from individual collections; these gene fragments were not amplified from all food DNA samples. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of DNA from mouthwash is human-origin. A little amount of food remnants would not influence the measurements of genetic polymorphisms. The genetic polymorphisms show no difference between buccal cell samples and buffy coat samples.