Two-Dimensional 16-BAC/SDS Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of Mitochondrial Membrane Proteins.

The substitution of the reverse polarity benzyldimethyl-n-hexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) for isoelectric focusing (IEF) in the first dimension of electrophoresis improves the solubility of extremely hydrophobic proteins and their recovery compared to conventional 2D IEF/SDS PAGE. The acidic environment of 16-BAC PAGE has also been shown to better preserve the labile methylation of basic proteins such as the histones. Several improvements of the 2D 16-BAC/SDS PAGE method are collectively described here with particular emphasis on the separation of mitochondrial membrane proteins of low molecular mass.

Use of Adaptive Focused Acoustics™ ultrasound in controlling liposome formation.

Many techniques for producing large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) or small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) have drawbacks, including exposure of sensitive biological materials to harsh organic solvents or high temperatures. Here we describe the use of controlled focused ultrasound, Adaptive Focused Acoustics™ (AFA), to make LUV or SUV at low temperature without organic solvents and at a consistent, chosen size. We studied the effects of peak incident power (PIP), cycles per burst (CPB), duty factor (DF), temperature, and lipid composition (natural or synthetic), on liposome size distribution.

Crude Garlic Extract Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis of Cancer Cells In Vitro.

Garlic and its lipid-based extracts have played an important medicinal role in humans for centuries that includes antimicrobial, hypoglycemic, and lipid-lowering properties. The present study was to investigate the effects of crude garlic extract (CGE) on the proliferation of human breast, prostate, hepatic, and colon cancer cell lines and mouse macrophageal cells, not previously studied. The human cancer cell lines, such as hepatic (Hep-G2), colon (Caco-2), prostate (PC-3), and breast (MCF-7), were propagated at 37°C; air/CO2 (95:5 v/v) using the ATCC-formulated RPMI-1640 Medium and 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), while the mouse macrophage cell line (TIB-71) was propagated at 37°C; air/CO2 (95:5 v/v) using the ATCC-formulated DMEM and 10% FBS.

A nanoemulsion formulation of dacarbazine reduces tumor size in a xenograft mouse epidermoid carcinoma model compared to dacarbazine suspension.

Unlabelled: Dacarbazine (DAC) is an anticancer drug that has been used to treat various types of cancers. The aim of the current study was to test whether there is an increased efficacy of DAC as a nanoemulsion on reducing tumor size in an epidermoid carcinoma xenograft mouse model. Tumors were induced in 5-week-old nude mice by subcutaneous injection.

Nanoemulsion preparations of the anticancer drug dacarbazine significantly increase its efficacy in a xenograft mouse melanoma model.

This article reports on the preparation of a water-soluble nanoemulsion of the highly lipid-soluble drug Dacarbazine (DAC). In addition, relative to suspensions of DAC, the nanoemulsion preparation demonstrated a lower zeta-potential (decreased negative charge, less anionic and more cationic) which has previously been associated with influencing drug membrane permeability. This study also reports that, relative to suspensions of DAC with a mean particle size of 5470 nm, nanoemulsions of DAC having mean particle sizes of 131 nm were more efficacious.