Scaffold-mediated BMP-2 minicircle DNA delivery accelerated bone repair in a mouse critical-size calvarial defect model.

Scaffold-mediated gene delivery holds great promise for tissue regeneration. However, previous attempts to induce bone regeneration using scaffold-mediated non-viral gene delivery rarely resulted in satisfactory healing. We report a novel platform with sustained release of minicircle DNA (MC) from PLGA scaffolds to accelerate bone repair.

Synthesis of [¹⁸F]-labelled maltose derivatives as PET tracers for imaging bacterial infection.

Purpose: To develop novel positron emission tomography (PET) agents for visualization and therapy monitoring of bacterial infections.

Procedures: It is known that maltose and maltodextrins are energy sources for bacteria. Hence, (18)F-labelled maltose derivatives could be a valuable tool for imaging bacterial infections.

Pulse duration determines levels of Hsp70 induction in tissues following laser irradiation.

Induction of heat shock protein (Hsp) expression correlates with cytoprotection, reduced tissue damage, and accelerated healing in animal models. Since Hsps are transcriptionally activated in response to stress, they can act as stress indicators in burn injury or surgical procedures that produce heat and thermal change. A fast in vivo readout for induction of Hsp transcription in tissues would allow for the study of these proteins as therapeutic effect mediators and reporters of thermal stress∕damage.

Image-guided genomic analysis of tissue response to laser-induced thermal stress.

The cytoprotective response to thermal injury is characterized by transcriptional activation of "heat shock proteins" (hsp) and proinflammatory proteins. Expression of these proteins may predict cellular survival. Microarray analyses were performed to identify spatially distinct gene expression patterns responding to thermal injury.

A new strategy to screen molecular imaging probe uptake in cell culture without radiolabeling using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Unlabelled: Numerous new molecular targets for diseases are rapidly being identified and validated in the postgenomic era, urging scientists to explore novel techniques for accelerating molecular probe development. In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was investigated as a potential tool for high-throughput screening and characterization of molecular imaging probes. Specifically, MALDI-TOF-MS was used to screen a small library of phosphonium cations for their ability to accumulate in cells.