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Application of biochar to the soil may become an effective and environmentally safe way to reduce the bioavailability of heavy metals in polluted soils. To confirm this hypothesis, a 40-day-long laboratory vegetation experiment was performed to assess the effect of three types of biochar (of bird droppings, apple pomace, and sunflower husk as the source material) applied at the rate of 20 t/ha on the concentration of heavy metals in agrosoddy-podzolic sandy loamy soil of different cultivation rates used for growing vetch-oat mixture. The mobile forms of copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium were determined after preliminary extraction by an ammonium acetate buffer solution with pH 4.8 on a Varian AA240FS atomic absorption spectrometer. By the end of the laboratory experiment, a significant increase (p < 0.05) in the copper concentration was found both in moderately cultivated soil (MS) and in strongly cultivated soil (SS) in case of using biochar of bird droppings and apple pomace. The application of biochar of sunflower husks did not affect the copper concentration in MS, but increased it in SS. There was a gradual decrease in the zinc content in soil samples with biochar of apple pomace and sunflower husk from the beginning to the end of the experiment (by 10–12% on average) contrary to an increase by 12% in the variant with biochar of bird droppings. A significant (p < 0.05) decrease in the lead content was revealed in all the experimental variants, while the introduction of biochar of sunflower husks increased the cadmium concentration by 76–92%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of the surface of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) deposited on a copper foil under the influence of nanosecond laser radiation with different peaks fluence was studied by using infrared spectroscopy of attenuated total reflection and optical microscopy. The dependences of the wetting angle of the texture surface with water on the peak fluence of laser radiation were measured. The obtained various relief textures demonstrate a sharp drop in water contact angles from (∼50°) to super hydrophilic (∼15°), which allows us to design and fabricate micro-scale elements of laboratory devices for the tasks of bactericidal treatment, collection and removal of liquids, as well as their separation and purification. A stable increase in the contact angles of water with the surface of the textures to hydrophobic (up to ∼140°) observed over time indicates degradation of the polymer coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main tasks of modern biopharmaceutics are focused at the development of new nanoscale carriers with low toxicity, given size, regulated response to local and remote effects, and capability of visualization of drug action and diagnostic results. A novel oligomeric carrier VAMANG-MP for delivery of the anticancer drug doxorubicin to tumor cells of different lines have been used. The synthesized oligomeric carrier was additionally functionalized by phosphatitylcholine. It was demonstrated that such delivery of doxorubicin to the target cells permits 10 times decreasing of its acting cytotoxic dose comparing with such dose of free doxorubicin, with preserving similar level of the antineoplastic effect. This dose-specific effect was demonstrated both in vitro towards various mammalian tumor cells, and in vivo towards mice with experimental NK/Ly lymphoma was shown. Action of immobilized doxorubicin was followed by more intense formation of vesicles on a surface of the target cells in vitro, and by their inter-nucleosomal DNA fragmentation as compared to action of free doxorubicin, as well as by appearance of higher amount of dead cells in ascytic fluid of the treated NK/Ly lymphoma mice. Thus, the synthesized nanoscale olygoelectrolytic carrier is a perspective system for delivery of anticancer drugs to target cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]