A survey of women who continue to smoke during pregnancy in Slovenia.

Introduction: Smoking in pregnancy is unhealthy and can also have negative effects on the foetus. However, there are still some women who do not quit smoking during pregnancy. The aim of the study was to identify Slovenian women at risk who smoke during pregnancy.

Cysteine-specific PEGylation of rhG-CSF via selenylsulfide bond.

A new PEGylation reagent enabling selective modification of free thiol groups is described in this article. The reagent was synthesized by attaching linear polyethylene glycol (PEG) N-hydroxysuccinimide to selenocystamine. The reaction was very fast, resulting in over 95% conversion yield.

PEGylation of antibody fragments for half-life extension.

Antibody fragments (Fab's) represent important structure for creating new therapeutics. Compared to full antibodies Fab' fragments possess certain advantages, including higher mobility and tissue penetration, ability to bind antigen monovalently and lack of fragment crystallizable (Fc) region-mediated functions such as antibody-dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) or complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). The main drawback for the use of Fab's in clinical applications is associated with their short half-life in vivo, which is a consequence of no longer having the Fc region.

The Characterization and Potential use of G-CSF Dimers and their Pegylated Conjugates.

G-CSF successfully prevents chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Two second-generation drugs with improved therapeutic properties are already available and the development of new forms is still ongoing. For an efficient receptor dimerization two G-CSF molecules have to bind.

Correlations between in vitro potency of polyethylene glycol-protein conjugates and their chromatographic behavior.

Pegylation is the most widely used and accepted methodology for half-life extension of biopharmaceutical drugs that also improves physicochemical and biological characteristics of proteins considerably. Most of the positive pharmacological effects of pegylated proteins are believed to be related to an increased hydrodynamic volume and molecular size. To explore the size impact of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on in vitro potency, a series of well-defined conjugates of interferon alpha-2b (IFN) were prepared with PEGs of different lengths and shapes specifically attached to the N-terminal amino group of the protein.