New dual dye for vitreoretinal surgery with increased transparency.

Objectives: To develop a new dye formulation for vitreoretinal surgery, which shows increased transparency for better intraoperative handling with better parameters important for use.

Methods And Analysis: A new blue dye, DDG, was synthesised and tested for toxicity and staining. Diglycerol as new density-increasing additive was identified, and its toxicity and lack of influence of the staining with trypan blue (TB) on a collagen membrane as model for the epiretinal membrane was determined.

PBF-LB/M of Low-Alloyed Steels: Bainite-like Microstructures despite High Cooling Rates.

Laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) is an emerging technology with enormous potential for the fabrication of highly complex products due to the layer-wise fabrication process. Low-alloyed steels have recently gained interest due to their wide potential range of applications. However, the correlation between the processing strategy and the material properties remains mostly unclear.

[Cold Plasma to Treat Therapy-Refractive Corneal Ulcers].

Background: The integrity of the ocular surface and the transparency of the cornea is crucial to obtain a good visual acuity - a requirement to actively participate in both social and professional environments. The homeostasis of the ocular surface is constantly endangered by microbes and by intrinsic factors with negative influence on wound healing. Furthermore, widespread use of contact lenses obtain a risk of corneal infection even resulting in corneal perforation and loss of the eye.

New stains for anterior capsule surgery.

Purpose: To investigate whether new dyes and dye combinations can give equivalent or better staining in anterior capsule surgery than existing dyes with a low degree of toxicity on relevant cells.

Setting: University laboratory of Jacobs University Bremen, Germany.

Design: Laboratory experimental study.

Toxicity and phototoxicity in human ARPE-19 retinal pigment epithelium cells of dyes commonly used in retinal surgery.

Purpose: To compare, for the first time, systematically the toxicity and phototoxicity of dyes and dye combinations used in vitreoretinal surgery. The dyes were trypan blue, brilliant blue G, trypan blue + brilliant blue G, indocyanine green, bromophenol blue, bromophenol blue + brilliant blue G, and acid violet 17, in clinically used concentrations.

Methods: Human ARPE retinal pigment epithelium cells were exposed to the dyes for 30 min.

Argon Cold Plasma-A Novel Tool to Treat Therapy-resistant Corneal Infections.

Purpose: To test whether therapy-resistant corneal infections can be successfully treated with argon cold plasma to reduce or eliminate pathogen microorganisms without affecting corneal cell viability.

Design: First-in-human case series and experimental study.

Methods: Cold plasma effects on viability of primary human corneal limbal epithelial cells were studied using exposure times from 0.

Surveillance study on the tolerability and safety of Flebogamma DIF (10% and 5% intravenous immunoglobulin) in adult and pediatric patients.

Direct comparisons of tolerability and safety of concentrated intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) versus less concentrated products are scarce. In this postauthorization, prospective, observational, multicenter study, a systematic comparison of 10% and 5% concentrations of Flebogamma® DIF IVIG was performed in both adult and pediatric patients treated with the studied IVIG products according to the approved indications under routine conditions. Dose of product administered, adverse events (AEs), physical assessments, laboratory tests, and concomitant therapy were analyzed.

Dexamethasone intravitreal implant in retinal vein occlusion: real-life data from a prospective, multicenter clinical trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between duration of macular edema associated with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and the achievement of vision gain in patients receiving dexamethasone intravitreal implant (DEX implant) in real-world clinical practice, and to define patterns of use of DEX implant and its efficacy and safety in the treatment of patients with RVO in clinical practice.

Methods: This prospective, open-label, multicenter, 6-month observational phase IV study conducted at 70 sites in Germany enrolled patients diagnosed with macular edema following branch or central RVO (BRVO, CRVO) who were given DEX implant. Follow-up visits and evaluations occurred in accordance with normal clinical practice.

A parallel panning scheme used for selection of a GluA4-specific Fab targeting the ligand-binding domain.

A method for development of murine Fab fragments towards extracellular domains of a surface receptor is presented. The GluA4 ionotropic glutamate receptor is used as a model system. Recombinant GluA4 ectodomain comprising both the N-terminal domain (NTD) and the ligand-binding domain (LBD) in one molecule was used for immunization.

Nile red dye in aqueous surfactant and micellar solution.

The solubilization behavior of nile red dye in aqueous surfactant and micellar solutions was studied by optical spectroscopic techniques, dynamic light scattering, and atomic force microscopy. Nile red exhibits considerable absorption in the submicellar concentration region. When dispersed in aqueous surfactant and/or micellar solution, nile red molecules tend to form nonemissive dimers and/or H-type aggregates through π-π stacking interactions.

Dyes for Eyes™: hydrodynamics, biocompatibility and efficacy of 'heavy' (dual) dyes for chromovitrectomy.

As epiretinal membranes (ERMs), the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and the vitreous cortex are essentially transparent tissues, or translucent structures, nontraumatic removal may be challenging in various types of macular surgery. Vital dyes stain these thin tissues, thus allowing for better visualization of these structures during vitrectomy and selective 'membrane peeling' from the underlying retina. To avoid swirling of the dye within the fluid-filled vitreous cavity, and to better target the dye onto the macula, a fluid-air exchange is commonly performed.

A bifunctional nanocarrier based on amphiphilic hyperbranched polyglycerol derivatives.

We here report on the synthesis of a bifunctional nanocarrier system based on amphiphilic hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG), which is modified by introducing hydrophobic aromatic groups to the core and retaining hydrophilic groups in the shell. "Selective chemical differentiation" and chemo-enzymatic reaction strategies were used to synthesize this new core-shell type nanocarrier. The system shows an innovative bifunctional carrier capacity with both polymeric and unimolecular micelle-like transport properties.

Novel 'heavy' dyes for retinal membrane staining during macular surgery: multicenter clinical assessment.

Purpose:   To evaluate the feasibility of two novel 'heavy' dye solutions for staining the internal limiting membrane (ILM) and epiretinal membranes (ERMs), without the need for a prior fluid-air exchange, during macular surgery.

Methods:   In this prospective nonrandomized multicenter cohort study, the high molecular weight dyes ILM-Blue™ [0.025% brilliant blue G, 4% polyethylene glycol (PEG)] and MembraneBlue-Dual™ (0.

Brilliant Blue G as protective agent against trypan blue toxicity in human retinal pigment epithelial cells in vitro.

Background: Combinations of trypan blue (TB), Brilliant Blue G (BBG) and polyethyleneglycol had been shown before to be less toxic to ARPE retinal pigment epithelial cells than TB alone. We studied systematically the influence of combinations of dyes on cell damage.

Methods: ARPE cells were exposed to TB (concentration range 0.

Glycine-terminated dendritic amphiphiles for nonviral gene delivery.

Development of nonviral vectors for the successful application of gene therapy through siRNA/DNA transfection of cells is still a great challenge in current research. (1, 2) In the present study, we have developed multivalent polyglycerol dendron based amphiphiles with well-defined molecular structures that express controlled glycine arrays on their surfaces. The structure-activity relationships with respect to the siRNA complexation, toxicity, and transfection profiles were studied with synthesized amphiphilic polycations.

Mixtures of cationic copolymers and oppositely charged surfactants: effect of polymer charge density and ionic strength on the adsorption behavior at the silica-aqueous interface.

This study addresses polymer-surfactant interactions at solid-liquid interfaces and how these can be manipulated by modulating the association between ionic surfactant and oppositely charged polymer, with a particular focus on electrostatic interactions. For this purpose, the interaction of a series of cationic copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone and quaternized vinylimidazol with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at the silica-aqueous interface was followed by in situ ellipsometry. To reveal the nature of the interaction, we performed measurements for different copolyion charge densities, in the absence and presence of added salt.

Advances in switchable supramolecular nanoassemblies.

Supramolecular nanoassemblies are gaining increasing importance as promising new materials with considerable potential for novel and promising applications. Within supramolecular nanoassemblies the connectivity of the monomeric units is based on reversible noncovalent interactions, like van der Waals interactions, hydrogen bonding, or ionic interactions. As the strength of these interactions depends on the molecular surrounding, the formation of nanoassemblies in principle can be controlled externally by changing the environment and/or the molecular shape of the underlying monomer.

Prevalence of magnetic resonance imaging-defined atrophic and hypertrophic phenotypes of knee osteoarthritis in a population-based cohort.

Objective: To describe the association of osteophytes with concomitant cartilage damage, assessed using semiquantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to describe the prevalence of atrophic and hypertrophic phenotypes of tibiofemoral knee osteoarthritis (OA) in a population-based cohort.

Methods: Participants of the Framingham Knee Osteoarthritis Study were examined with a 1.5T MRI system using triplanar intermediate-weighted fat-suppressed sequences.

Biocatalytic route to sugar-PEG-based polymers for drug delivery applications.

Sugar-PEG-based polymers were synthesized by enzymatic copolymerization of 4-C-hydroxymethyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-β-L-threo-pentofuranose/4-C-hydroxymethyl-1,2-O-benzylidene-β-L-threo-pentofuranose/4-C-hydroxymethyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-O-pentyl-β-L-threo-pentofuranose with PEG-600 dimethyl ester using Novozyme-435 (Candida antarctica lipase immobilized on polyacrylate). Carbohydrate monomers were obtained by the multistep synthesis starting from diacetone-D-glucose and PEG-600 dimethyl ester, which was in turn obtained by the esterification of the commercially available PEG-600 diacid. Aggregation studies on the copolymers revealed that in aqueous solution those polymers bearing the hydrophobic pentyl/benzylidene moiety spontaneously self-assembled into supramolecular aggregates.

Synthesis of biodegradable amphiphilic nanocarriers by chemo-enzymatic transformations for the solubilization of hydrophobic compounds.

Polymeric nanocarriers possess advanced physicochemical properties that improve bioavailability, enhance cellular dynamics, and control target ability in drug delivery. In particular, dendritic polyglycerol is a promising new biocompatible scaffold for drug delivery. The present study explores the chemo-enzymatic modifications on dendritic hyperbranched polyglycerol (dPG) leading to amphiphilic polymeric architectures with easily hydrolysable ester linkages.

Comparative toxicology of trypan blue, brilliant blue G, and their combination together with polyethylene glycol on human pigment epithelial cells.

Purpose: To determine the toxicity in ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelium cells of trypan blue (TB) at 0.15% and 0.25% concentration, brilliant blue G (BBG) at 0.

Phenotypic characterization of skeletal abnormalities of Osteopotentia mutant mice by micro-CT: a descriptive approach with emphasis on reconstruction techniques.

Purpose: The novel protein osteopotentia (Opt) has recently been described as an essential regulator of postnatal osteoblast maturation and might possibly be responsible for some of the rarer types of osteogenesis imperfecta. Our aim was the evaluation of micro CT for the qualitative morphological assessment of skeletal abnormalities of Osteopotentia-mutant mice in comparison to radiography and histology.

Materials And Methods: Four homozygous mice with insertional mutations in the Opt gene and three wild-type controls were examined ex vivo using radiography and micro-CT.

A new family of nonionic dendritic amphiphiles displaying unexpected packing parameters in micellar assemblies.

In this paper we report on the synthesis of a new family of nonionic dendritic amphiphiles that self-assemble into defined supramolecular aggregates. Our approach is based on a modular architecture consisting of different generations of hydrophilic polyglycerol dendrons [G1-G3] connected to hydrophobic C(11) or C(16) alkyl chains via mono- or biaromatic spacers, respectively. All amphiphiles complex hydrophobic compounds as demonstrated by solubilization of Nile Red or pyrene.