Post-administration labeling with Palladium(II) ions enables ICP-MS-based determination of the biodistribution of carbonized nanogels.

Carbonized nanogels (CNGs) are carbon-based nanomaterials possessing excellent antibacterial and antiviral activities for treating infectious diseases. Thus, investigations of the biodistribution of CNGs are crucial in ensuring their biosafety for in vivo applications. In this study, we combined a labeling scheme, employing tetrachloropalladate (PdCl42-) ions to selectively label the administered CNGs in solubilized tissue samples, and an automatic sample pretreatment scheme, using a knotted reactor to effectively separate the PdCl42--labeled CNGs from the free PdCl42- ions and the tissue matrices, to enable reliable and interference-free quantification of CNGs through measuring the signal intensities of Pd using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). After optimizing the labeling conditions and the separation scheme, we observed that the PdCl42- ions bound strongly to the CNGs (dissociation constant: 23.0 nM), with the method's detection limits reaching 1.6 fg L-1 and 0.9 µg L-1 within working ranges from 10-4 to 1 µg L-1 and from 1 to 1000 µg L-1, respectively. We verified the reliability and applicability of this analytical method through spike analyses of solubilized rat liver, spleen, kidney, lung, brain, and blood samples (recoveries ranging from 96 to 102%) and through analyses of these rat organ and tissue samples after giving rats an intravenous dose of CNGs (2.5 mg kg-1 body weight). The biodistribution data indicated that these administered CNGs deposited mainly in the liver, lung, and spleen at 10 min and 1 h post-administration. Our study revealed that this post-administration labeling scheme coupled with ICP-MS allows accurate determination of the biodistribution of carbonized nanomaterials.

[Nursing Experience Applying a Bereavement Counseling Model on an Elderly Patient With Depression].

Grief counseling is an effective treatment for those who have experienced a loss. In this case study, therapeutic communication was used as part of a nursing intervention to assist an elderly patient with depression to overcome grief and continue with life. The stage-based Four Tasks of Mourning proposed by William Worden were employed. These tasks include: (1) accepting the reality of the loss; (2) working through the pain of grief; (3) adjusting to a new environment without the deceased; and (4) focusing attention on other relationships. The nursing intervention occurred between December 14, 2015 and February 3, 2016. During this period, the author offered grief counseling to help the subject endure the loss of their kin, express their grief and pain, overcome difficulties in making adjustments, and move on from the loss by developing new life goals. The subject eventually acknowledged the irreversibility of what had happened and accepted the death through self-reacceptance and the support of friends and family. The patient was thus able to overcome his grief-induced behavior patterns, and rekindle his hopes for life and existing relationships. Therefore, the author recommends that nursing personnel assess carefully the reactions of elderly patients with depression to loss and provide adequate grief counseling that helps them fulfill the tasks of mourning.