Cryopreservation reduces the concentration of detectable bacteria in contaminated peripheral blood progenitor cell products.

Background: Microbial contamination of PBPC products PBPCPs may cause severe clinical complications. There-fore, we investigated the influence of cryopreservation on the sensitivity to detect bacterial contaminations in PBPCPs.

Study Design And Methods: Expired PBPCPs (n = 29) were thawed, and defined concentrations of Staphylococcus epidermidis or Escherichia coli were inoculated into each bag.

Galanthamine as bis-functional ligand for the acetylcholinesterase.

Acetylcholinesterase plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease as this enzyme is responsible for cleavage of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and, according to recent investigations, also promotes aggregation of beta-amyloid peptides, which causes plaque formation in synaptic areas. We have performed a molecular modeling study to investigate bis-galanthamine derivatives connected by a methylene spacer of varying length as dual acting acetylcholinesterase ligands. Our results suggest that such ligands indeed can interact simultaneously with both biological functions of the enzyme and should therefore serve as the basis for a further development of bis-functional Alzheimer drugs.