Glycol Chitosan-Based Fluorescent Theranostic Nanoagents for Cancer Therapy

Theranostics is an integrated nanosystem that combines therapeutics with diagnostics in attempt to develop new personalized treatments with enhanced therapeutic efficacy and safety. As a promising therapeutic paradigm with cutting-edge technologies, theranostic agents are able to simultaneously deliver therapeutic drugs and diagnostic imaging agents and also monitor the response to therapy. Polymeric nanosystems have been intensively explored for biomedical applications to diagnose and treat various cancers. In recent years, glycol chitosan-based nanoagents have been developed as dual-purpose materials for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy. They have shown great potential in cancer therapies, such as chemotherapeutics and nucleic acid and photodynamic therapies. In this review, we summarize the recent progress and potential applications of glycol chitosan-based fluorescent theranostic nanoagents for cancer treatments and discuss their possible underlying mechanisms.     

Preparation of Chitosan Nanocompositeswith a Macroporous Structure by Unidirectional Freezing and Subsequent Freeze-Drying

Chitosan is the N-deacetylated derivative of chitin, a naturally abundant mucopolysaccharide that consists of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-β-d-glucose through a β (1→4) linkage and is found in nature as the supporting material of crustaceans, insects, etc. Chitosan has been strongly recommended as a suitable functional material because of its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and adsorption properties. Boosting all these excellent properties to obtain unprecedented performances requires the core competences of materials chemists to design and develop novel processing strategies that ultimately allow tailoring the structure and/or the composition of the resulting chitosan-based materials. For instance, the preparation of macroporous materials is challenging in catalysis, biocatalysis and biomedicine, because the resulting materials will offer a desirable combination of high internal reactive surface area and straightforward molecular transport through broad “highways” leading to such a surface. Moreover, chitosan-based composites made of two or more distinct components will produce structural or functional properties not present in materials composed of one single component. Our group has been working lately on cryogenic processes based on the unidirectional freezing of water slurries and/or hydrogels, the subsequent freeze-drying of which produce macroporous materials with a well-patterned structure. We have applied this process to different gels and colloidal suspensions of inorganic, organic, and hybrid materials. In this review, we will describe the application of the process to chitosan solutions and gels typically containing a second component (e.g., metal and ceramic nanoparticles, or carbon nanotubes) for the formation of chitosan nanocomposites with a macroporous structure. We will also discuss the role played by this tailored composition and structure in the ultimate performance of these materials.     

Chitosan nanoparticles enhance developmental competence of in vitro-matured porcine oocytes

Oxidative stress is inevitable as it is derived from the handling, culturing, inherent metabolic activities and medium supplementation of embryos. This study was performed to investigate the protective effect of chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) on oxidative damage in porcine oocytes. For this purpose, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) derived from porcine slaughterhouse ovaries were exposed to different concentrations of CNPs (0, 10, 25 and 50 µg/ml) during in vitro maturation (IVM). Oocytes treated with 25 µg/ml CNPs showed significantly higher levels of GSH, along with a significant reduction in ROS levels compared to control, CNPs10 and CNPs50 groups. In parthenogenetic embryo production, the maturation rate was significantly higher in the CNPs25 group than that in the control and all other treated groups. In addition, when compared to the CNPs50 and control groups, CNPs25-treated oocytes showed significantly higher cleavage and blastocyst development rates. The highest concentration of CNPs reduced the total cell number and ratio of ICM: TE cells in parthenogenetic embryos, suggesting that there is a threshold where benefits are lost if exceeded. In cloned embryos, the CNPs25 group, as compared to all other treated groups, showed significantly higher maturation and cleavage rates. Furthermore, the blastocyst development rate in the CNPs25-treated group was significantly higher than that in the CNPs50-treated group, as was the total cell number. Moreover, we found that cloned embryos derived from the CNPs25-treated group showed significantly higher expression levels of Pou5f1, Dppa2, and Ndp52il genes, compared with those of the control and other treated groups. Our results demonstrated that 25 µg/ml CNPs treatment during IVM improves the developmental competence of porcine oocytes by reducing oxidative stress.     

羧甲基壳聚糖促进次适温下小白菜种子的萌发

为了研究不同浓度羧甲基壳聚糖在次适温下对小白菜种子萌发的作用。采用0、0.05%、0.10%、0.20%和0.40%5个浓度羧甲基壳聚糖浸种处理小白菜种子,在次室温下(15±1)℃进行萌发试验,研究不同浓度羧甲基壳聚糖浸种对小白菜种子发芽特性的影响。羧甲基壳聚糖浸种处理可提高次室温下小白菜种子的发芽势、发芽率、发芽指数、活力指数、芽长和根长。以0.10%羧甲基壳聚糖浸种处理的效果最好,与对照相比,种子发芽势和发芽率分别提高30.43%和18.42%,发芽指数、幼苗鲜重和活力指数分别提高47.58%、30%和91.86%,芽长和根长分别提高30.41%和15.04%,均达到显著或极显著水平。促进次适温下小白菜种子萌发的最佳羧甲基壳聚糖浸种浓度为0.10%。该研究为羧甲基壳聚糖在蔬菜生产上的应用提供了科学依据。     

壳聚糖的改性及其在农业上的应用研究

根据壳聚糖分子内的-OH和-NH2易于进行化学修饰的特点,对壳聚糖进行改性,引入功能性基团增加其溶解性和功能性,以拓宽其应用范围,是壳聚糖应用开发的主要方向之一。结合纳米SiOx对壳聚糖的修饰改性及应用研究对近年来国内外对壳聚糖改性的多种方法进行了概述,介绍了壳聚糖在农业上的应用研究概况。     

壳聚糖澄清芦柑果汁工艺条件的优化

为了制备稳定的澄清芦柑果汁,该文基于Box-Behnken试验设计,探讨了壳聚糖浓度、澄清温度、澄清时间对果汁澄清度的影响;建立了二次多项式回归模型,分析模型的有效性与因子间的交互作用,并对壳聚糖澄清芦柑果汁的工艺参数进行了优化。结果表明：壳聚糖澄清芦柑果汁的最佳工艺参数为：壳聚糖浓度0.80 g/L、温度59℃和时间71 min。在此最佳工艺条件下果汁透光率达到97.8%,且试验结果与模型预测值（98.3%）相吻合,所得回归模型拟合情况良好（R2=0.9886）,达到设计要求。进一步对经壳聚糖澄清后的芦柑果汁的相关指标进行测定,发现果汁中可溶性固形物、维生素 C 及总酸含量依次从11.30±0.15%、31.33±3.25 mg/100mL、0.71±0.00 g/100mL略降为9.50±0.25%、21.8±5.28 mg/100mL、0.51±0 g/100mL,而总酚、果胶、蛋白质质量浓度依次从990.3±8.02 mg/L、366±4.70μg/mL、595.53±20.62μg/mL减少为557.87±4.67 mg/L、186.24±44.32μg/mL、26.42±0.30μg/mL 有较明显下降,但澄清后的果汁非生物稳定性很好。该试验用响应面法优选出的澄清工艺合理可行,为芦柑果汁深加工及果汁产品开发提供了理论依据。     

载牛冠状病毒N蛋白壳聚糖微球的免疫效果评价

为了对壳聚糖分子作为佐剂的缓释效果进行免疫学评价,本研究合成了牛冠状病毒DB2毒株N蛋白基因的3'端第487位～1287位碱基,用大肠杆菌对其进行了高效表达,通过SDS-PAGE电泳分离、电洗脱纯化该牛冠状病毒N蛋白(BCV N).以戊二醛为交联剂,采用乳化交联的方法制备空白壳聚糖微球.利用吸附法制备载BCVN蛋白的壳聚糖微球,通过肌肉注射途径免疫BALB/c小鼠,用间接ELISA方法检测免疫鼠血清中的抗体水平,由此评价壳聚糖微球对BCVN的缓释作用和佐剂效应.结果表明,壳聚糖微球的形态较好、表面光滑、分散性较好,平均粒径为6.50±1.77μm,电势分布在36 mV,吸附BCV N蛋白的壳聚糖微球在体内所产生的免疫效果明显优于唯N蛋白组,说明载BCV N蛋白的壳聚糖微球在体内具有一定的缓释效果,使N蛋白在体内缓慢释放而长时间诱导抗体的产生,该研究结果为以壳聚糖微球作为疫苗佐剂积累了实验数据.     

壳聚糖包膜缓释钾肥的初步研究

以壳聚糖和KC l为主要原料制备壳聚糖包膜KC l的微球,测定了微球在25℃水中浸泡后K+的释放速率,并应用扫描电子显微镜对浸泡前后微球表面膜结构进行表征。结果表明:壳聚糖对K+的包埋率达到97.08%;K+释放量增量表现为,1-4 d快速上升,5-59 d稳定上升,60 d后开始减缓。扫描电镜观察结果表明:微球浸泡前表面膜结构密实;浸泡73 d后微球表面膜形成大量突起、均匀的小孔。24和28 d包膜微球在水中的释放量均符合缓释肥料标准。     

几丁聚糖控制月季霜霉病的研究

几丁聚糖是几丁质脱乙酰基后得到的一种氨基多糖。其产品0.5%OS-施特灵可控制月季霜霉病Peronospora sparsa，每隔10天以500倍液连续施药3次，控制效果达80％左右。     

The Effect of Chitosan and Sodium Alginate on the Growth and Photosynthesis of Soybean

1　Introduction　　Sodium alginate and chitosan are the oceanic natural resources and high molecular com-pound which can promote the plant growth,and protect various plants from harmful organ-isms or prevent plant disease caused by harmful organisms( Makuuch,1 998and Hadwiger,etal. 1 983) .The two materials were used as coating materials,plant promoters,foliar sprayingin soil and so on( Mitchell,1 96 2 ;Brown,982 ;Cuero,1 991 ,Osuji,1 992 ) .Because the two ma-terials are degradable in soil …