Optically transparent electrodes to study living cells: A mini review.

The use of electrochemical methods to study living systems, including cells, has been of interest to researchers for a long time. Thus, controlling the polarization of the electrode contacting living cells, one can influence, for example, their proliferation or the synthesis of specific proteins. Moreover, the electrochemical approach formed the basis of the biocompatibility improvement of the materials contacting with body tissues that use in carbon hemosorbents and implants development. It became possible to reach a fundamentally new level in the study of cell activity with the introduction of optically transparent electrodes in this area. The advantage of the using of optically transparent electrodes is the possibility of simultaneous analysis of living cells by electrochemical and microscopic methods. The use of such materials allowed approaching to the study of the influence of the electrode potential on adhesion activity and morphology of the different cell types (HeLa cells, endothelial cell, etc.) more detailed. There are a negligible number of publications in this area despite the advantages of the usage of optically transparent electrodes to study living cells. This mini-review is devoted to some aspects of the interaction of living cells with conductive materials and current advances in the use of optically transparent electrodes for the study of living cells, as well as the prospects for their use in cellular technologies.

Diagnosis and treatment of persons with acute thallium poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe organs and systems damages in persons after mass poisoning with thallium and show the results of treatment. METHODS: Forty-four persons (12 males and 32 females) with acute oral thallium poisoning were tested for thallium levels in blood and urine and examined by a toxicologist and a neurologist, and in some -cases, by a gynecologist, an ophthalmologist, and a psychiatrist. Persons were divided into the following three groups depending on the severity of the poisoning: I: This group consisted of 9 persons (blood thallium level 8.3-26.7 µg/L) and treatment applied in the hospital included intestinal lavage, antidote therapy with potassium-ferric hexacyanoferrate, sodium dimercaptopropanesulfonate; II: This group consisted of 21 persons (0.3-6.1 µg/L) who received a similar treatment at home; and III: This group consisted of 14 (normal) persons who did not receive any treatment. RESULTS: The most common combination of several symptoms such as alopecia (on day 17-23), muscle pain of different localization in the debut of the disease (>88.9 % of the persons), sudden unexplained general weakness (>76.2 % of the persons), peripheral paraparesis or tetraparesis (including no complaints), polyneuropathy (88.89 % in group I vs. 54.14 % in group II, p < 0.05), static and dynamic ataxia (33.3 % in group I vs. 19.4 % in group II, p < 0.05), vertigo (1/3 of the persons), postural tremor (1/3 of the persons), and cognitive and emotional disorders (2/3 of the persons). Ovarian dysfunction was observed in all women of group I but in 42.9 % of group II, p < 0.05. The treatment was successful. In group I, plasma and urine thallium level significantly decreased by 69.3 % and 84 %, respectively. Pain, movement and coordination disorders regressed first while tremor, sensory, cognitive and emotional disorders lasted longer. Polyneuropathies later became mononeuropathies. Tremor could increase despite a decreased thallium concentration. DISCUSSION: The Sklifosovsky Institute conducted the largest study in Russian Federation investigating disorders in persons with acute thallium poisoning confirmed by laboratory tests. The clinical symptoms were consistent with those reported in the literature. The applied treatment was successful and led to better results compared to our previous approaches of treating mass thallium poisoning. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a typical combination of thallium poisoning symptoms and allows us to recommend a complex therapy without the use of extracorporeal detoxification methods.

Noninvasive diagnosis of dysfunctions in patients after organ transplantation by monitoring the redox potential of blood serum.

BACKGROUND: The problem of noninvasive diagnosis of transplant dysfunction in patients is one of the most complex problems in transplantology at the present time. Because transplanted organs can be ischemic, the measurement of redox potential (RP) in blood serum reflects the prooxidant-antioxidant balance in the organism. It was hypothesized that certain dysfunctions and postoperative complications in transplant patients may be accompanied by a change in the RP of blood plasma. METHODS: Monitoring of the RP in the blood serum of patients was performed as a noninvasive method of diagnosis of transplant dysfunctions. The RP values were measured in blood serum of 63 apparently healthy subjects. Monitoring of blood serum RP was performed in 64 liver transplant patients, 59 kidney allotransplantation patients and six lung transplant patients. A total of 1,759 measurements were performed in 192 total subjects. Statistical analysis of RP values was performed using the Statistica 6.0 software package. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The proposed method is based on the electrochemical measurement of the open-circuit potential of the platinum electrode immersed in blood serum because the measured value reflects the state of equilibrium between prooxidant and antioxidant systems of the organism. Shifts in values of the RPs (open circuit potentials) observed in the course of monitoring are significantly different in patients with transplant dysfunction compared to patients with unremarkable recoveries. The analysis of monitoring allows for the development of certain diagnostic and prognostic criteria of transplant dysfunction. It is important that the proposed method is noninvasive, simple, and inexpensive.