Generation of an in vitro 3D PDAC stroma rich spheroid model.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a prominent desmoplastic/stromal reaction, which contributes to the poor clinical outcome of this disease. Therefore, greater understanding of the stroma development and tumor-stroma interactions is highly required. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are myofibroblast-like cells located in exocrine areas of the pancreas, which as a result of inflammation produced by PDAC migrate and accumulate in the tumor mass, secreting extracellular matrix components and producing the dense PDAC stroma.

H2O2 Detection at Carbon Nanotubes and Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes: Oxidation, Reduction, or Disproportionation?

The electrochemical behavior of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) was investigated over a wide potential window. At CNTs, H2O2 will be oxidized or reduced at large overpotentials, with a large potential region between these two processes where electrochemical activity is negligible. At N-CNTs, the overpotential for both H2O2 oxidation and reduction is significantly reduced; however, the reduction current from H2O2, especially at low overpotentials, is attributed to increased oxygen reduction rather than the direct reduction of H2O2, due to a fast chemical disproportionation of H2O2 at the N-CNT surface.

Electrochemical oxidation of dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide at nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube electrodes.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) substantially lower the overpotential necessary for dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) oxidation compared to nondoped CNTs or traditional carbon electrodes such as glassy carbon (GC). We observe a 370 mV shift in the peak potential (Ep) from GC to CNTs and another 170 mV shift from CNTs to 7.4 atom % N-CNTs in a sodium phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.