Quantitative Investigation into the influence of intravenous fluids on human immune and cancer cell lines.

The effect of intravenous fluids (IVF) has been investigated clinically through the assessment of post-treatment reactions. However, the responses to IVF vary from patient-to-patient. It is important to understand the response of IVF treatment to be able to provide optimal IVF care. Herein, we investigated the impact of commonly used IVFs, Dextrose, NaCl and Ringer on different human cancer (HepG2 (liver hepatocellular carcinoma) and MCF7 (breast adenocarcinoma)) and immune cell lines (U937 (lymphoma) monocyte and macrophages). The effect of IVF exposure on single cells was characterized using hemocytometer, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Quantitative data on the viability and morphology of the cells were obtained. Our results emphasize that different IVFs demonstrate important differences in how they influence distinct cell lines. Particularly, we observed that the lactated ringer and dextrose solutions altered the viability and nuclear size of cancer and immune cells differently. Our findings present valuable information to the knowledge of cellular-level IVF effects for further investigations in IVF usage on diverse patient populations and support the importance and necessity of developing optimal diluents not only for drug stability but also for patient benefits.

DaimonDNA: A portable, low-cost loop-mediated isothermal amplification platform for naked-eye detection of genetically modified organisms in resource-limited settings.

The steady increase in commercialization of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) demands low-cost, rapid and portable GMO-detection methods that are technically and economically sustainable. Traditional nucleic acid detection platforms are still expensive, immobile and generate complex read-outs to be analyzed by experienced personal. Herein, we report the development of a portable, rapid and user-friendly GMO-detection biosensor, DaimonDNA. The system specifically amplifies the target DNA using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and provides real-time, naked-eye detection with Hydroxynaphthol blue reagent in less than 30 min. The construction of the platform relies on 3D printing and off-the-shelf electronic components that makes it extremely low-cost (<25 Euro), light weight (108 g), mobile (6 × 6 × 3 cm) and suitable for field deployment. We present the detection of the soybean lectin gene as a species control, and P35S as a transgene element found in many GMO varieties. We confirmed specificity of the DaimonDNA biosensor using" RoundUp Ready (RRS)" and MON89788 soybean genomic DNA with P35S and lectin primer sets. We characterized sensitivity of our system using 76.92, 769.2 and 7692 copies of RRS soybean genomic DNA in a non-GMO background. We benchmarked the DNA amplification and detection efficiency of our system against a thermocycling machine by quantifying the images obtained from gel electrophoresis and showed that our system is comparable to most other reported isothermal amplification techniques. This system can also be used for widespread point-of-care or field-based testing that is infrequently performed due to the lack of rapid, inexpensive, user-friendly and portable methods.