Measurement of total CO in microliter samples of urine and other biological fluids using infrared detection of CO.

The purpose of this study is to describe a low-cost and simply made instrument capable of measuring the total CO content of microliter volumes of biological fluids utilizing a commercially available CO sensor based on a NDIR detector. The described instrument is based on transformation of dissolved HCO to CO by acidification and subsequent measurement of the produced CO. The instrument has a linear response in the range 0.

Could albumin affect the self-assembling properties of a block co-polymer system and drug release? An in-vitro study.

Purpose: This work investigated the influence of a model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), on the properties of a thermogelling formulation intended for administration inside body compartments where there is high albumin content, as in the case of inflamed joints; it also explored the relation between the variation of these properties and release performance of methotrexate (MTX), a drug used to treat forms of arthritis and rheumatic conditions.

Methods: The influence of BSA on the micellisation and gelation behaviour of Poloxamer 407, chosen as a model copolymer, was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (microDSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), fluorescence spectroscopy and rheology studies. A release study of MTX loaded inside the hydrogel in presence and in absence of BSA was performed.

Human cytidine deaminase: a biochemical characterization of its naturally occurring variants.

Human cytidine deaminase is an enzyme of the pyrimidine salvage pathways that metabolizes several cytosine nucleoside analogs used as prodrugs in chemotherapy. We carried out a characterization of the cytidine deaminase 79A>C and 208G>A Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, in order to highlight their functional role and provide data that could help fine-tune the chemotherapic use of cytosine nucleosides in patients carrying the above mentioned SNPs. The 79A>C SNP results in a K27Q change in a protein region not involved in the catalytic event.