Bone substitute materials delivering zoledronic acid: physicochemical characterization, drug load, and release properties.

Calcium phosphate-like bone substitute materials have a long history of successful orthopedic applications such as bone void filling and augmentation. Based on the clinical indications, these materials may be loaded with active agents by adsorption offering a perspective for providing innovative drug-delivery systems. The highly effective bisphosphonate zoledronic acid (ZOL) demonstrated a strong affinity to biominerals and is known to significantly reduce osteoclastic activity.

Abnormal changes of synaptic excitability in migraine with aura.

Migraine patients are characterized by altered cortical excitability and information processing between attacks. The relationship between these abnormalities is still poorly understood. In this study, visual evoked potentials (VEP) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy were recorded simultaneously in migraineurs and healthy subjects.

Effects of intranasal hypocretin-1 (orexin A) on sleep in narcolepsy with cataplexy.

Background: The neuropeptides hypocretin-1 and -2 (hcrt-1 and -2, also known as orexin A and B) are crucially involved in the regulation of sleep/wake states. On the one hand, the sleep-wake disorder narcolepsy can be caused by an hcrt-1 deficiency. On the other, intracerebral administration of hcrt-1 produces an increase in wakefulness at the expense of REM sleep in normal and narcoleptic animals.

Declarative memory performance is associated with the number of sleep spindles in elderly women.

Objective: Recent evidence suggests that the sleep-dependent consolidation of declarative memory relies on the nonrapid eye movement rather than the rapid eye movement phase of sleep. In addition, it is known that aging is accompanied by changes in sleep and memory processes. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the overnight consolidation of declarative memory in healthy elderly women.

Unsaturated fatty acids drive disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)-dependent cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration by modulating membrane fluidity.

The disintegrin-metalloproteinases ADAM10 and ADAM17 mediate the release of several cell signaling molecules and cell adhesion molecules such as vascular endothelial cadherin or L-selectin affecting endothelial permeability and leukocyte transmigration. Dysregulation of ADAM activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of vascular diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the control of ADAM functions are still incompletely understood. Atherosclerosis is characterized by lipid plaque formation and local accumulation of unsaturated free fatty acids (FFA).

Activity of the claw retractor muscle in stick insects in wall and ceiling situations.

The activity of the middle part of the claw retractor muscle was examined in two species of stick insects (Carausius morosus and Cuniculina impigra). We performed electromyographic recordings while the animals were standing on a smooth or a rough surface of a platform in horizontal, vertical or inverted positions, as well as during rotations of the platform. We recorded tonic and phasic motor units.

The MTT assay as tool to evaluate and compare excipient toxicity in vitro on respiratory epithelial cells.

There are not many excipients already approved in drug products for the use in the respiratory tract. In this study, a rapid in vitro screening procedure to assess and compare acute toxicity of soluble excipient substances on respiratory epithelial cells utilising the Calu-3 cell line is presented. The test substances are either dissolved in HBSS+HEPES buffer or are directly applied to the cellular surface.

Antimicrobial efficacy of surface-coated external fixation pins.

In clinical applications, colonization of metal implants by adhesive and biofilm-forming bacteria not only prolong healing but create additional healthcare costs for implant revision and antimicrobial treatment. An in vitro assay was established investigating the antimicrobial surface activity of external fixation pins intended for use in bone fractures and deformities. Test articles made out of stainless steel and coated with a polymer-containing nanoparticulate silver were compared to non-coated reference controls out of stainless steel, copper and titanium.

Single-use disposable dry powder inhalers for pulmonary drug delivery.

Importance Of The Field: The understanding of pulmonary drug delivery and thus its utilization for medical purposes has remarkably advanced over the last decades. It has been recognized that this route of administration offers many advantages and several drug delivery systems have been developed accordingly. Thereby, single-use disposable dry powder inhalers may be considered an economically and therapeutically valuable option for both local and systemic administration of drugs to treat a variety of different disease states.

Always on the bright side of life: anti-adhesive properties of insect ommatidia grating.

The surface of some insect eyes consists of arrays of cuticular protuberances, which are 50-300 nm in diameter, and are termed corneal nipples or ommatidia gratings. They were widely reported to reduce the reflectance for normally incident light, contributing to camouflage by reducing glare to predators, while furthermore enhancing the intake of light, which is especially important for nocturnal insects. Our preliminary observations suggest a third function: in contrast to the rest of the body, ommatidia of various insects remain clean, even in a heavy contaminated environment.

Release of gentamicin sulphate from biodegradable PLGA-implants produced by hot melt extrusion.

For a long-term local treatment of osteomyelitis biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) implants loaded with gentamicin sulphate (GS) were prepared, analysed and compared to the marketed product Septopal (Biomet, Darmstadt, Germany), which consists of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads loaded with the same active ingredient. The implants were manufactured by hot melt extrusion with a twin screw extruder. In order to decrease the processing temperature and to improve the drug release behaviour, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400) was added as plasticizer in different concentrations.

The diagnosis of a personality disorder increases the likelihood for seropositivity to Toxoplasma gondii in psychiatric patients.

Individuals serologically positive for the chronic infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (TG) display certain personality traits differently from uninfected individuals. Experimental data in mice demonstrate that TG infection modulates behaviour. However, psychiatric patients with a personality disorder have not yet been investigated systematically.

Solubilization of poorly water-soluble drugs by mixed micelles based on hydrogenated phosphatidylcholine.

A remarkable part of newly developed active pharmaceutical ingredients is rejected in early phase development and will never find a way to a patient because of poor water solubility which is often paired with poor bioavailability. Considering such arising solubility problems the development of application vehicles like mixed micelles (MM) is a challenging research topic in pharmaceutical technology. While known classical MM systems are composed of phosphatidylcholine and bile salts, it was the aim of this study to investigate if alternatively developed MM systems were superior in solubilization of different hydrophobic drugs.

Molecularization in nutritional science: a view from philosophy of science.

Scope: Over the past decade, a trend toward molecularization, which could be observed in almost all bioscientific disciplines, now appears to have also developed in nutritional science. However, molecular nutrition research gives birth to a series of questions. Therefore, we take a look at the epistemological foundation of (molecular) nutritional science.

Foams for pharmaceutical and cosmetic application.

Foaming of cleaning agents in the household is an effect which is not connected with the quality of cleaning process. Foam development of some cosmetic formulations such as hair mousse or shaving foam has its functionality. Foam formation during application of a foam bath or shampoo is only a cosmetic attribute.

Slippery pores: anti-adhesive effect of nanoporous substrates on the beetle attachment system.

Traction experiments with adult seven-spotted ladybird beetles Coccinella septempunctata (L.) were carried out to study the influence of surface structure on insect attachment. Force measurements were performed with tethered walking insects, both males and females, on five different substrates: (i) smooth glass plate, (ii) smooth solid Al(2)O(3) (sapphire) disc, and (iii-v) porous Al(2)O(3) discs (anodisc membranes) with the same pore diameter but different porosity.

Characterisation of solution-based pressurised metered-dose inhaler aerosols with an optical particle counter.

The White Light Aerosol Spectrometer (welas(R)) is an alternative method to multistage cascade impaction in the analysis of particle-size distribution (PSD) that allows measurements in high concentrations by single particle measurement. Correspondence of the PSD measured by the welas(R) system in combination with a new aerosol sampling system has been discussed before for aqueous aerosols from nebulisers [M. Kuhli, M.

Rhadinovirus vector-derived human telomerase reverse transcriptase expression in primary T cells.

The rhadinovirus herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) as a gene delivery vector allows large DNA insertions and long-termed gene expression. In the case of T-cell transduction, such vectors use the viral transformation-associated genes of HVS C488 for T-cell amplification. In this report, we investigated whether the gene for the catalytic telomerase subunit human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) can substitute for the transformation-associated genes in rhadinoviral T-cell transduction and amplification.

Modulation of sterol homeostasis by the Cdc42p effectors Cla4p and Ste20p in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The conserved Rho-type GTPase Cdc42p is a key regulator of signal transduction and polarity in eukaryotic cells. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cdc42p promotes polarized growth through the p21-activated kinases Ste20p and Cla4p. Previously, we demonstrated that Ste20p forms a complex with Erg4p, Cbr1p and Ncp1p, which all catalyze important steps in sterol biosynthesis.

In-vitro activities of tetracyclines, macrolides, fluoroquinolones and clindamycin against Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma ssp. isolated in Germany over 20 years.

Antimicrobial resistance in genital mycoplasmas is increasing and shows global variation. We determined the susceptibilities of 469 mycoplamas, comprising 290 Mycoplasma hominis and 179 ureaplasma isolates collected during 1983 and 1989-2004, to eleven antibacterials by agar dilution. Additionally, we analyzed the results of routine E-testing during 2005-2008.

Mixed micelle formation with phosphatidylcholines: the influence of surfactants with different molecule structures.

The number of mixed micellar (MM) drug products being introduced into the commercial pharmaceutical market is very limited although there is need for alternative dosage forms for poorly soluble active drug substances. While known systems are composed of phosphatidylcholine and bile salts, it was the aim of this study to investigate if alternative surfactants are able to form isotropically clear solutions over a broad range of concentrations and at higher ratios of phosphatidylcholine (PC). It was a particular challenge of this work to find a MM system with a unimodal particle size distribution since it is known that surfactants often form vesicles with phospholipids instead of MM.

Influence of amorphous content on compaction behaviour of anhydrous alpha-lactose.

Modified lactoses are widely used as filler-binders in direct compression of tablets. Until today, little about the compaction behaviour of anhydrous alpha-lactose is known. In this study, a new method to prepare anhydrous alpha-lactose from alpha-lactose monohydrate by desiccation with heated ethanol was evaluated and the influence of amorphous content in the lactose powder prior to modification on powder properties, compaction behaviour and storage stability was determined.

Red-mediated transposition and final release of the mini-F vector of a cloned infectious herpesvirus genome.

Bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) are well-established cloning vehicles for functional genomics and for constructing targeting vectors and infectious viral DNA clones. Red-recombination-based mutagenesis techniques have enabled the manipulation of BACs in Escherichia coli without any remaining operational sequences. Here, we describe that the F-factor-derived vector sequences can be inserted into a novel position and seamlessly removed from the present location of the BAC-cloned DNA via synchronous Red-recombination in E.

A new approach to characterise pharmaceutical aerosols: measurement of aerosol from a single dose aqueous inhaler with an optical particle counter.

An in-line sampling system with dilution units for aqueous droplet aerosols from single dose inhalers (Berodual Respimat, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Germany) for an optical particle counter is described. The device has been designed to interface with a white light aerosol spectrometer (welas digital 2100, Palas GmbH, Germany) that allows the time-resolved measurement of highly concentrated aerosols.