Publications by authors named "R Foulkes"
Controllable surface modification of nanoparticulate drug delivery vectors is key to enhancing specific desirable properties such as colloidal stability, targeting, and stimuli-responsive cargo release. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been proposed as potential delivery devices, with surface modification achieved by various bioconjugate "click" reactions, including copper-catalysed and strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Herein, we show that photo-induced nitrile imine-mediated tetrazole-ene cycloaddition (NITEC) can be used to surface-modify tetrazole-appended Zr MOFs with maleimides, and vice versa, with the extent of this traceless surface functionalisation controlled by the length of photoirradiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The dietary restriction of fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs), called the low-FODMAP diet (LFD), is frequently used to manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This service evaluation aimed to assess the long-term effectiveness of the LFD in managing IBS symptoms and whether symptom response and dietary adherence to the LFD were associated.
Methods: This observational service evaluation collected data via questionnaires during clinical dietetic appointments for IBS management.
Article Synopsis
- Two major chaperones, calreticulin (CRT) and binding immunoglobulin protein (GRP78/BiP), have distinct immunoregulatory functions: CRT promotes inflammation and T cell activation, while GRP78/BiP induces anti-inflammatory responses and regulates immune balance.
- Endogenous CRT on cancer cells signals for their removal by immune cells, but infused CRT can hinder this process; conversely, low levels of BiP can indicate ER stress in tumors.
- Therapeutics targeting the surface relocation of these chaperones, such as enhancing CRT exposure or infusing GRP78/BiP analogs, are being explored in clinical trials to improve immune responses in diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
Codelivery of chemotherapeutics via nanomaterials has attracted much attention over the last decades due to improved drug delivery to tumor tissues, decreased systemic effects, and increased therapeutic efficacies. High porosities, large pore volumes and surface areas, and tunable structures have positioned metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as promising drug delivery systems (DDSs). In particular, nanoscale Zr-linked MOFs such as MOF-808 offer notable advantages for biomedical applications such as high porosity, good stability, and biocompatibility.
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