Detection of ingested nitromethane and reliable creatinine assessment using multiple common analytical methods.

Aim: Nitromethane, found in fuels used for short distance racing, model cars, and model airplanes, produces a falsely elevated serum creatinine with standard creatinine analysis via the Jaffé method. Erroneous creatinine elevation often triggers extensive testing, leads to inaccurate diagnoses, and delayed or inappropriate medical interventions. Multiple reports in the literature identify "enzymatic assays" as an alternative method to detect the true value of creatinine, but this ambiguity does not help providers translate what type of enzymatic assay testing can be done in real time to determine if there is indeed false elevation.

Can bioadhesive nanoparticles allow for more effective particle uptake from the small intestine?

There has been increasing interest in developing bioadhesive nanoparticles due to their great potential as carriers for therapeutics in oral drug delivery systems. Despite decades of research, such a system still has not been successfully implemented. This paper demonstrates the enormous potential of such engineered systems: the incorporation of a bioadhesive coating, poly(butadiene-maleic anhydride-co-L-DOPA) (PBMAD), to non-bioadhesive nanospheres resulted in an enhancement of particle uptake in the small intestine from 5.

Are in vivo gastric bioadhesive forces accurately reflected by in vitro experiments?

Bioadhesive polymers have been used in oral drug delivery to prolong the contact of dosage forms with the site of drug absorption. Previous investigators have coated oral dosage forms in polymers that demonstrated bioadhesive properties during in vitro screens in efforts to prolong the gastric residence of drugs absorbed only in the stomach and proximal duodenum without clinical success. To further investigate the bioadhesive properties of the gastric environment, an in vivo quantitative bioadhesive fracture strength test was developed.

Evaluation of continuous flow nanosphere formation by controlled microfluidic transport.

Improved size monodispersity of populations of polymer nanospheres is of enormous interest in the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine. As such, the knowledge of exact experimental conditions for precise production of nanospheres is needed for nonaqueous systems. This work presents the use of controlled microfluidic transport methods to study the experimental parameters for fabricating nanoparticles utilizing phase inversion.

The relationship between skin temperature and neuronal characteristics in the median, ulnar and radial nerves of non-impaired individuals.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the nerve conduction characteristics in the median, ulnar and radial nerves and presenting skin temperature in non-impaired individuals as they were subjected to electrophysiological testing. Previous researchers artificially manipulated the skin temperature and demonstrated that there was a positive relationship between temperature and nerve conduction velocity and a negative correlation between distal latency and evoked motor action potential (EMAP). The sample population was 50 non-impaired individuals derived from a venue in the New York City and Long Island region.