Publications by authors named "Mihail-Lucian Pascu"

Breast cancer remains a global health challenge, prompting interest in the anticancer properties of other drugs, including chlorpromazine (CPZ). This study presents a novel approach in breast cancer treatment using laser irradiated CPZ. CPZ dissolved in distilled water, was exposed to 266 nm laser irradiation for varying durations, characterized by UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy, followed by drug-likeness and ADME-Tox predictions.

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This paper reports results obtained using white light diffraction phase microscopy (wDPM) on captured images of breast and colon tissue samples, marking a contribution to the advancement in biomedical imaging. Unlike conventional brightfield microscopy, wDPM offers the capability to capture intricate details of biological specimens with enhanced clarity and precision. It combines high resolution, enhanced contrast, and quantitative capabilities with non-invasive, label-free imaging.

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Pharmaceuticals carried into space are subjected to different gravitational conditions. Hypergravity is encountered in the first stage, during spacecraft launching. The stability of medicines represents a critical element of space missions, especially long-duration ones.

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The optical and spectral properties of foams and emulsions provide information about their micro-/nanostructures, chemical and time stability and molecular data of their components. Foams and emulsions are collections of different kinds of bubbles or drops with particular properties. A summary of various surfactant and emulsifier types is performed here, as well as an overview of methods for producing foams and emulsions.

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Ciprofloxacin is one of the most prescribed antibiotics in treating bacterial infections, becoming an important pollutant of the wastewaters. Moreover, ciprofloxacin is hard to be destroyed by conventional water treatment processes; therefore, efficient treatments to destroy it are needed in water decontamination. This study offers insights into the performance of 266 nm laser beams on the photodegradation of ciprofloxacin.

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The evolution of different antimicrobial drugs in terrestrial, microgravity and hypergravity conditions is presented within this review, in connection with their implementation during human space exploration. Drug stability is of utmost importance for applications in outer space. Instabilities may be radiation-induced or micro-/hypergravity produced.

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Optics and optical spectroscopy are dynamic fields that are developing very fast nowadays, triggered by (i) the need to go deeper in the scientific approach to nature's processes and phenomena, (ii) the evolution of applications in technological and industrial processes, art conservation, environment protection and cosmic space, and (iii) the sometimes hard to predict evolutions of knowledge in science, life sciences, artistic culture, technology and industrial processes [...

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Antibiotic resistance became an increasing risk for population health threatening our ability to fight infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of laser irradiated thioridazine (TZ) against clinically-relevant bacteria in view to fight antibiotic resistance. TZ in ultrapure water solutions was irradiated (1-240 min) with 266 nm pulsed laser radiation.

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The worldwide infection with the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) demands urgently new potent treatment(s). In this study we predict, using molecular docking, the binding affinity of 15 phenothiazines (antihistaminic and antipsychotic drugs) when interacting with the main protease (M) of SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, we tested the binding affinity of photoproducts identified after irradiation of phenothiazines with Nd:YAG laser beam at 266 nm respectively 355 nm.

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This paper presents a spectroscopic study of emulsions generated with a laser-assisted device. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman and UV-Vis-NIR reflectance spectra of emulsions, recorded before and after exposure to laser radiation were used to characterize the effect of laser irradiation. The paper also presents a comparison between the calculated IR spectra and the experimental FTIR spectra of an emulsion's components.

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Fluorescence and lasing emission that are produced separately in time during excitation laser pulse for an mm-sized Rhodamine 6G dye-water droplet are reported. The droplet acts as a quasi-spherical closed optical resonator and due to multiple internal reflections, the resonant amplified emission is delayed with respect to fluorescence emission. Measurements of the temporal evolution of the droplet's emission were performed by varying the signal acquisition gate width and gate delay with respect to the pumping pulse.

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Laser induced autofluorescence (LIAF) lifetime is useful to distinguish between normal laryngeal tissues and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) based on variations of their biochemical composition and structure alterations. LIAF was collected from samples constituted by pairs of normal and malignant tissue, which were excised from three patients. Exclusion criteria for samples harvest were: (i) macroscopic changes of normal vocal cord observed during surgery; (ii) previous surgical intervention on vocal cord, (iii) patients treated only with chemotherapy or radiotherapy for carcinoma.

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Aqueous chlorpromazine solutions exposed to 266 nm generated as fourth harmonic of Nd:YAG pulsed laser along time intervals from 1 min to 240 min were investigated for their antimicrobial activity against planktonic and adherent Gram-positive bacterial strains. Qualitative and quantitative assays based on microbiological methods and flow cytometry assays were performed to establish the minimum inhibitory and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations and to reveal some of the possible mechanisms of antimicrobial activity. Optimal irradiation conditions and combinations of photoproducts for achieving the best antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects are suggested.

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An ex vivo case series aimed at identification of normal laryngeal tissue from laryngeal epidermoid squamous keratinized carcinoma by measuring laser-induced autofluorescence (LIAF) and Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectra is presented. The case series results were obtained for paired samples extracted from three patients (exclusion: macroscopic changes of normal vocal cord observed during surgery; surgical intervention on vocal cord, treated only with chemotherapy or radiotherapy for carcinoma; inclusion: men, aged 57-68, non-smokers). For LIAF analysis, a 375-nm picosecond pulsed laser diode with 31 MHz pulse repetition rate, 100 ps full-time width at half-maximum, and average power 0.

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Multiple drug resistance requires a flexible approach to find medicines able to overcome it. One method could be the exposure of existing medicines to ultraviolet laser beams to generate photoproducts that are efficient against bacteria and/or malignant tumors. This can be done in droplets or bulk volumes.

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Phenothiazine derivatives are non-antibiotics with antimicrobial, fungistatic and fungicidal effects. We exposed to a high energy UV laser beam phenothiazines solutions in water at 20mg/mL concentration to increase antibacterial activity of resulting mixtures. Compared to previous results obtained on bacteria, more research is needed about UV laser irradiated phenothiazines applications on cancer cell cultures to evidence possible anticancerous properties.

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The study reports an investigation of the photoproducts obtained by exposure of chlorpromazine hydrochloride in ultrapure water (concentration 2 mg/mL) to a 266-nm laser beam obtained by fourth harmonic generation from a Nd:YAG laser (6-ns full time width at half maximum, 10-Hz pulse repetition rate). The photoproducts were analyzed by steady-state UV-Vis absorption, laser-induced fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and liquid chromatography-tandem time-of-flight mass spectroscopy. Two figures showing pathways that take place during irradiation for obtaining the final products are shown.

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Phenothiazine drugs - chlorpromazine (CPZ), promazine (PZ) and promethazine (PMZ) - were exposed to 266 nm (fourth harmonic of the Nd:YAG pulsed laser radiation) in order to be modified at molecular level and to produce an enhancement of their antibacterial activity. The irradiated samples were analysed by several methods: pH and surface tension measurements, UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence and thin layer chromatography. The purpose of these investigations was to study and describe the modified properties of the medicines to further investigate their specific interactions with materials such as cotton, polyester and Parafilm M as a model smooth surface.

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Chlorpromazine (CPZ) was exposed to a 266 nm laser beam for different periods of time ranging from minutes to 24 h. At intervals, the products from irradiation were evaluated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and evaluated for their activity against mycobacteria of human interest (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium, M.

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Introduction: Phenothiazines when exposed to white light or to UV radiation undergo a variety of reactions that result in degradation of parental compound and formation of new species. This process is slow and may be sped up with exposure to high energy light such as that produced by a laser.

Methods: Varying concentrations of Chlorpromazine Hydrochloride (CPZ) (2-20 mg/mL in distilled water) were exposed to 266 nm laser beam (time intervals: 1-24 hrs).

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Treatment of micro-veins of less than 1.5 mm with laser and with chemical sclerosis is technically challenging because of their difficulty to remedy. Laser treatment is even more difficult when dark phototypes are involved.

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Whereas exposure of combinations of a phenothiazine and bacterium to incoherent UV increases the activity of the phenothiazine, exposure of the phenothiazine alone does not yield an increase of its activity. Because the laser beam energy is greater than that produced by the incoherent UV sources, exposure of phenothiazines to specific lasers may yield molecules with altered activities over that of the unexposed parent. Chlorpromazine, thioridazine and promethazine active against bacteria were exposed to two distinct lasers for varying periods of time.

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It was demonstrated that comparison of the autofluorescence spectra induced with laser radiation in ultraviolet and visible allows the identification of brain tumor tissues and normal tissues as well as the difference between them. The measurements were performed on homogenates to ensure an optimal reproducibility of the results. We conclude that the autofluorescence spectra of the tumor samples are close to those measured for normal tissues, but there are differences between them that allow distinguishing the tumor from the normal tissue.

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We present the four key areas of research-preprocessing, the volume conductor, the forward problem, and the inverse problem-that affect the performance of EEG and MEG source imaging. In each key area we identify prominent approaches and methodologies that have open issues warranting further investigation within the community, challenges associated with certain techniques, and algorithms necessitating clarification of their implications. More than providing definitive answers we aim to identify important open issues in the quest of source localization.

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5-FU exhibits a high fluorescence after irradiation with UV-vis light. An enhancement of the cytostatic activity of 5-FU under UV-vis irradiation was observed on an in vivo experimental model.

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