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Ali Kadivar,1 Behnam Kamalidehghan,1 Hamid Akbari Javar,2 Benyamin Karimi,3 Reihaneh Sedghi,4 Mohamed Ibrahim Noordin1 1Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 4Faculty of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Shiraz, Iran Abstract: Recent cancer molecular therapies are targeting main functional molecules to control applicable process of cancer cells. Attractive targets are established by receptor tyrosine kinases, such as platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) and c-Kit as mostly irregular signaling, which is due to either over expression or mutation that is associated with tumorigenesis and cell proliferation. Imatinib mesylate is a selective inhibitor of receptor tyrosine kinase, including PDGFR-β and c-Kit. In this research, we studied how imatinib mesylate would exert effect on MCF7 and T-47D breast cancer and MCF 10A epithelial cell lines, the gene and protein expression of PDGFR-β, c-Kit and their relevant ligands platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB and stem cell factor (SCF). The MTS assay was conducted in therapeutic relevant concentration of 2–10 µM for 96, 120 and 144 h treatment. In addition, apoptosis induction and cytostatic activity of imatinib mesylate were investigated with the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling TUNEL and cell cycle assays, respectively, in a time-dependent manner. Comparative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were conducted to evaluate the expression and regulation of imatinib target genes and proteins. Our finding revealed that imatinib mesylate antiproliferation effect, apoptosis induction and cytostatic activity were significantly higher in breast cancer cell lines compared to MCF 10A. This effect might be due to the expression of PDGFR-β, PDGF-BB, c-Kit and SCF, which was expressed by all examined cell lines, except the T-47D cell line which was not expressed c-Kit. However, examined gene and proteins expressed more in cancer cell lines. Therefore, imatinib mesylate was more effective on them. It is concluded that imatinib has at least two potential targets in both examined breast cancer cell lines and can be a promising drug for targeted therapy to treat breast cancer. Keywords: Gleevec, breast cancer, normal breast cell line, tyrosine kinase receptor, protein expression, comparative real-time PCR, cell cycle analysis, cell cycle arrest, cytostatic activity

A novel biomimetic route for the synthesis of a water-soluble poly(3,4-ethylenedioxithiophene) (PEDT) in the presence of poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) and using iron(III)-tetra( p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (FeIIITSPP), cobalt(III)-tetra( p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (CoIIITSPP), manganese(III)-tetra( p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (MnIIITSPP), and copper(II)-tetra( p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (CuIITSPP) as effective catalysts is presented. The reactions were performed with different monomer, catalyst, template, and initiator concentrations. The absorbance of the polaron bands at various pH values indicated pH 2 as the best condition for polymerization. Precipitation or salting out was highly dependent on the mentioned factors. The formation of PEDT was confirmed by UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry proved the convenient electroactivity of the synthesized polymer. The presence of PSS that serves as a charge-compensating dopant provides processability and water solubility and, in addition, a distinct advantage over similar reactions employing native enzymes due to higher stability and lower cost of the catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a coating of electrospun polyvinyl alcohol/modified chitosan/hydroxy-containing porous organic framework (PVA/MCS/HC-POF) was fabricated and applied as a novel sorbent for thin-film solid-phase microextraction of pesticides from cereal samples, followed by HPLC-UV. The successful fabrication of PVA/MCS/HC-POF was confirmed through characterization tests. The functional group of MCS and a large number of hydroxyl groups on the HC-POF structure contributed to the co-extraction of pesticides. Under the optimum conditions, the calibration plots were linear within the range of 5.0-800 ng mL -1 (r 2  ≥ 0.978), and the limits of detection were obtained below 4.0 ng mL -1 . The method's precision was investigated through intra-day, inter-day, and film-to-film RSD (%) measurements, all of which were less than 6.5 %, 8.2 %, and 10.0 %, respectively. Furthermore, satisfactory recoveries ranging from 63.3 % to 79.0 % were obtained. Accordingly, the proposed method can be considered a suitable alternative for measuring trace amounts of pesticides in cereal samples., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Our study aimed to introduce a novel double-cross-linked and thermoresponsive hydrogel with remarkable potential for accelerating third-degree burn wound healing. Burn injuries are recognized as challenging, critical wounds. Especially in third-degree burns, treatment is demanding due to extended wounds, irregular shapes, significant exudation, and intense pain during dressing changes. In this work, hydrogels made of zwitterionic chitosan and dialdehyde starch (ZCS and ZDAS) were created to deliver silymarine (SM) and levofloxacin (LEV). The hydrogels were effortlessly produced using dynamic Schiff base linkages and ionic interactions between ZCS and ZDAS at appropriate times. The pore uniformity, gel fraction, and commendable swelling properties can imply a suitable degree of Schiff base cross-link. The hydrogel demonstrated outstanding shape retention, and significant self-healing and flexibility abilities, enabling it to uphold its form even during bodily movements. After injecting biocompatible hydrogel on the wound, a notable acceleration in wound closure was observed on day 21 (98.1 ± 1.10 %) compared to the control group (75.1 ± 6.13 %), and histopathological analysis revealed a reduction of inflammation that can be linked to remarkable antioxidant and antibiotic properties. The results demonstrate the hydrogel's efficacy in promoting burn wound healing, making it a promising candidate for medical applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A novel, selective and sensitive colorimetric sensor for naked-eye detection and adsorption of multi-ions in aqueous solution was synthesized using hybridization of organic-inorganic phase. The polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of monomers on modified TiO 2 NPs and applied under optimized conditions for naked-eye detection: sensor mass: 15 mg; response time: 30 s with limits of detection (LODs) as small as 10, 1, 0.5, and 1 ppb Hg (II), Cd (II), Cu (II), and UO 2 (II) at pH = 8, 9, 6, and 7, respectively. The efficient selectivity of the naked eye sensor to multi-ions in the presence of various ions was affirmed wherein the color of the chemosensor in the presence of Hg (II), Cd (II), Cu (II), and UO 2 (II) shifted from gray to violet, orange, green and yellow, respectively. The salient advantages of this method comprise expeditious, selectable, high reproducibility, with reasonable adsorption capacity (133 mg g -1 ) and inexpensive nature for rapid detection of heavy metal ions contamination in aqueous solution in an inexpensive manner. The adsorption mechanism was studied via adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm models and the accuracy of the chemosensor has been confirmed and supported by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, 1 H-NMR, SEM, TEM, EDX mapping, DLS, BET, and EDS analysis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In this study, electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Chitosan-g-Poly (N-vinyl imidazole) (PVA/CS-g-PNVIM) wound dressing containing Titanium dioxide/Curcumin (CUR) was prepared as a novel wound healing system with multifunctional properties, including wound closure, drug release, and antibacterial activity. The wound dressing nanofibers system's mechanical, structural, and biological properties were investigated using tensile testing, degradation, X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, drug release, and in vivo studies. The nanofiber dressing showed excellent mechanical and hydrolytic degradation stability. CS-g-PNVIM-based nanofibers showed excellent antibacterial activity against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in just 1 h with 90 % growth inhibition, with no cytotoxicity to normal fibroblast cells. The animal studies showed that the wound healing and tissue regeneration process by CS-g-PNVIM-based nanofibers were faster than the control group and was completed in 14 days. In conclusion, the CS-g-PNVIM-based nanofibers are potentially promising for biocompatible antibacterial wound dressing applications with proper exudate absorption., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Nowadays, vascularization and mineralization of bone defects is the main bottleneck in the bone regeneration field that is needed to be overcome and developed. Here, we prepared novel in-situ formed injectable hydrogels based on chitosan biguanidine and carboxymethylcellulose loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and recombinant Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) and studied its influence on osteoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). The sequential release behavior of the VEGF and BMP-2 from hydrogels adjusted with the pattern of normal human bone growth. MTT assay exhibited that these hydrogels were non-toxic and significantly increased DPSCs proliferation. The Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis on CG11/BMP2-VEGF showed significantly higher gene and protein expression of ALP, COL1α1, and OCN. These results were confirmed by mineralization assay by Alizarin Red staining and Alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity. Based on these evaluations, these hydrogel holds potential as an injectable bone tissue engineering platform., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The current recommendation for treating hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV patients includes the combination of sofosbuvir (SOF) and daclatasvir (DCV). DCV should be used at different doses to compensate for interactions with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Up to three pills a day might be required which will significantly add to the pill burden of these patients. In this study, we have used a single-tablet approach to treating HCV-HIV coinfection., Methods: Patients coinfected with HIV and HCV were prospectively enrolled from 10 centers throughout the country. Patients received a single once-daily fixed dose combination (FDC) pill containing 400 mg SOF and 30, 60 or 90 mg DCV depending on the type of ART they were receiving for 12 or 24 weeks. (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03369327)., Results: Two hundred thirty-three patients were enrolled from 10 centers. Twenty-three patients were lost to follow-up and two patients died from causes unrelated to treatment. Two hundred eight patients completed the treatment course of which 201 achieved SVR (96.6%)., Conclusion: Single-tablet combination of DCV and SOF is an effective and safe treatment for patients coinfected with HIV and HCV. The combination works well in patients on ART in which dose adjustment is required. Patients with cirrhosis, previous treatment failure and various genotypes respond identically. The expenses of genotyping can be saved., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Electrically conducting self-healing scaffolds are known as a new series of intelligent biomaterial for regulating Human Adipose Mesenchymal Stem Cells biological behaviors, especially their differentiation to bone cells. Herein, we developed a novel hydrophilic semi-conductive chitosan derivative (CP) and loaded it into the self-healing waterborne polyurethane structure, as a new osteogenic agent. The fabricated scaffolds exhibited excellent shape memory properties with shape fixity (> 97 %) and shape recovery ratio (> 98 %) with excellent self-healing value (> 93 %) at a temperature close to the body temperature. The results of MTT, cell attachment, alkaline phosphatase activity, and alizarin red staining analysis demonstrated that the CP-contained scaffolds promote proliferation of hADSCs and matrix mineralization. Also, by introducing the CP the gene expression level of COL-1, ALP, RUNX2, and OCN were significantly enhanced, in line with matrix mineralization. These multifunctional engineered constructs are promising biomaterials for repairing various bone defects., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The utilization of conductive polymers for fabrication of neural scaffolds have attracted much interest because of providing a microenvironment which can imitate nerve tissues. In this study, polypyrrole (PPy)-alginate (Alg) composites were prepared using different percentages of alginate and pyrrole by oxidative polymerization method using FeCl 3 as an oxidant and electrical conductivity of composites were measured by four probe method. In addition, chitosan-based nanoparticles were synthesized by ionic gelation method and after characterization merged into PPy-Alg composite in order to fabricate a conductive, hydrophilic, processable and stable scaffold. Physiochemical characterization of nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold such as electrical conductivity, porosity, swelling and degradation was investigated. Moreover, cytotoxicity and proliferation were examined by culturing OLN-93 neural and human dermal fibroblasts cells on the Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold. Due to the high conductivity, the film with ratio 2:10 (PPy-Alg) was recognized more suitable for fabrication of the final scaffold. Results from FT-IR and SEM, evaluation of porosity, swelling and degradation, as well as viability and proliferation of OLN-93 neural and fibroblast cells confirmed cytocompatiblity of the Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold. Based on the features of the constructed scaffold, Nanochitosan/PPy-Alg scaffold can be a proper candidate for neural tissue engineering.

Purpose: Sofosbuvir (SOF) and daclatasvir (DOC) are suggested for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with concomitant HCV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In 2016, Sovodak tablet a combination of SOF and DOC was introduced. In the present study we assessed the effectiveness of SOF in the treatment of HCV in patients co-infected with HIV. Methods: A total of 26 HCV patients co-infected with HIV received SOF for 3 months. One patient did not adhere to the drug protocol and was removed from the final analysis. The blood sample for qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was obtained after treatment and sustained virological response (SVR) was calculated. Results: Twenty five patients finished the study. The mean patients' age was 44.16±6.21 years. About 72% of participants had HCV genotype 1a, 8% genotype 1b, and 20% genotype 3a. After 3 months of intervention with Sovodak, the SVR12 was about 96%. None of the patients reported any adverse events. Conclusion: For the first time, the results of the present study showed that Sovodak had high SVR12 in HCV patients co-infected with HIV. However, for a precise conclusion, there is a need for larger studies and an equal number of patients with different virus genotypes., (© 2020 The Authors.)

For the first time, the novel type of guided bone regeneration composite nanofibers were prepared by grafting polycaprolactone (PCL) to chitosan (CS) using the copper (I) - catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. For improve the bioactivity of scaffolds the magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite (Mg-HA) was used. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) were applied to characterize the prepared scaffolds. The SEM observations show defect-free uniform composite nanofibers with about 419-495 nm diameter. The in vitro cell viability test (MTT assay) show that fabricated scaffolds don't have any significant cytotoxicity. Also, osteoblast-like MG63 cells cultured on the nanofibers which prepared through CuAAC reaction (CS-g-PCL/Mg-HA) show higher antibacterial activity, mechanical properties, and cell attachment compared to CS/PCL/Mg-HA blend scaffolds. Moreover, the Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and Alizarin red S (ARS) staining showed that the introduction of the triazole ring into the chemical structure of the copolymer enhanced bone mineralization ability of the scaffolds. These results suggested that this novel scaffold provides an interesting option for bone repair and regeneration., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bruises occur under both static and dynamic loadings when the imposed stress on fruit goes over the failure stress of the fruit tissue. Bruise damage is the main reason for fruit quality loss. In this study, the potential of artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and multiple regression (MR) techniques to predict bruise volume propagation of pears during the storage time was evaluated. For this purpose, at first, the radius of curvature at loading region was obtained. Samples were divided into five groups and subjected to five force levels. Then, they were kept under storage conditions and at 7-time intervals after loading tests, bruise volume was calculated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and image processing techniques. Force, storage time, and radius of curvature at loading region were employed as input variables, and bruise volume (BV) was considered as output in the developed models. Multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network with three layers that includes an input layer (three neurons), two hidden layers (two and nine neurons), and one output layer was used. For the evaluation of models, three criteria (RMSE, VAF, and R 2 ) were calculated. ANN and MR gave the highest and lowest correlation between predicted and actual values, respectively. These results indicate that the ANN techniques can be used to predict pear bruising propagation in storage time., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest., (© 2019 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A novel colorimetric sensor based on the TiO 2 /poly(acrylamide- co -methylene bis acrylamide- co -2-(3-(4-nitro-phenyl)thioureido)ethyl methacrylate) nanocomposite was synthesized via a surface modification strategy; methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane was used to provide reactive vinyl groups on the surface of TiO 2 nanoparticles for the successful surface polymerization of Am (acrylamide), MBA (methylenbisacrylamide), and NPhM (2-(3-(4-nitrophenyl)thioureido)ethyl methacrylate) components. The successful preparation of nanocomposites was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, and X-ray diffraction methods, and the sensing ability of the probe toward fluoride ions was investigated using naked-eye detection and UV-vis measurement. The interaction of the prepared polymeric nanocomposite with fluoride ions elicited a significant visible change in color from pale yellow to orange and was further affirmed by a clean interconversion of the two absorption bands at 330 and 485 nm. The selective binding ability of the polymeric nanocomposite towards fluoride over other anions, such as I - , Cl - , Br - , AcO - , H 2 PO 4 - , and H 2 SO 4 - was further explored; the prepared chemosensor could detect fluoride ions in acetonitrile with a detection limit of 3 μM., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society.)

A novel magnetic-functionalized-multi-walled carbon nanotubes@chitosan N -heterocyclic carbene-palladium (M-f-MWCNTs@chitosan-NHC-Pd) nanocatalyst is developed in two steps. The first step entails the fabrication of a three-component cross-linking of chitosan utilizing the Debus-Radziszewski imidazole approach. The second step comprised the covalent grafting of prepared cross-linked chitosan to the outer walls of magnetically functionalized MWCNTs (M-f-MWCNTs) followed by introducing PdCl 2 to generate the m-f-MWCNTs@cross-linked chitosan with a novel NHC ligand. The repeated units of the amino group in the chitosan polymer chain provide the synthesis of several imidazole units which also increase the number of Pd linkers thus leading to higher catalyst efficiency. The evaluation of catalytic activity was examined in the expeditious synthesis of biaryl compounds using the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of various aryl halides and aryl boronic acids; ensuing results show the general applicability of nanocatalyst with superior conversion reaction yields, high turnover frequencies (TOFs) and turnover numbers (TON). Meanwhile, nanocatalyst showed admirable potential in reusability tests, being recycled for five runs without losing significant activities under optimum reaction conditions. The successfully synthesis of catalyst and its characterization was confirmed using the Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), spectrometer transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).

An interested reader drew to our attention that the above study appeared to contain a high level of overlap with an article by the same authors published in the journal Drug Design, Development and Therapy [Kadivar A, Kamalidehghan B, Akbari Javar H, Karimi B, Sedghi R and Noordin MI: Antiproliferation effect of imatinib mesylate on MCF7, T‑47D tumorigenic and MCF 10A nontumorigenic breast cell lines via PDGFR‑β, PDGF‑BB, c‑Kit and SCF genes. Drug Des Devel Ther 11: 469‑481, 2017]. Following an internal investigation and also in liaison with the authors, it was established that, although the studies were conducted along broadly similar lines, the papers contained entirely different data involving two different subsets of cell lines; the submission to Drug Des Devel Ther aimed to explore the effects of imatinib mesylate on three different groups, with each group being represented by a cell line, whereas the submission to Int J Mol Med explored the effectiveness of imatinib mesylate in breast cancer cell lines. In spite of this, considering the relatedness of the articles and the fact that the paper to Drug Des Devel Ther was submitted first and published while the Int J Mol Med paper was passing through the peer‑review process, the authors concede that they should have properly referenced their paper submitted to Drug Des Devel Ther in the Int J Mol Med paper. Note that the publishers of Drug Des Devel Ther, with whom we were liaising, agreed with the decision to issue a Corrigendum for this paper that acknowledges the article published in Drug Des Devel Ther. The authors regret their failure to acknowledge the related paper in this instance, and apologize to the readership for this oversight. [the original article was published in International Journal of Molecular Medicine 14: 414‑424, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3590].

The present study evaluated an occupational exposure level for formaldehyde employing benchmark dose (BMD) approach. Dose-response relationship was determined by utilizing cumulative occupational exposure dose and DNA damage. Based on this goal, outcome of comet assay for some Iranian exposed people in occupational exposure individuals was used. In order to assess formaldehyde exposure, 53 occupationally exposed individuals selected from four melamine tableware workshops and 34 unexposed subjects as a control group were examined. The occupational exposure dose was carried out according to the NIOSH-3500 method, and the DNA damage was obtained by employing comet assay in peripheral blood cells. EPA Benchmark Dose Software was employed for calculating BMD and BMDL. Cumulative exposure dose of formaldehyde was between of 2.4 and 1972 mg. According to the findings of the current study, the induction of DNA damage in the exposed persons was increased tail length and tail moment (p < 0.001), when compared to controls. Finally, an acceptable dose-response relationship was obtained in three-category information between formaldehyde cumulative exposure doses and genetic toxicity. BMDL was 0.034 mg/m 3 (0.028 ppm), corresponding to genetic damage of peripheral blood cells. It can be concluded that the occupational permissible limit in Iranian people could be at levels lower than OSHA standards.

A novel ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) toward Pb(II) recognition was synthesized on the surface of magnetic multi-walled carbon nanotubes (magnetic MWCNTs). In order to prepare magnetic functionalized-MWCNT/IIP (magnetic f-MWCNT/IIP), copolymerization of methylenebisacrylamide (MBAm) and acrylamide (AM) in the presence of dithizone-Pb(II) complex was carried out on the surface of the magnetic f-MWCNTs. Selectivity of the new synthesized sorbent toward Pb(II) and the influence of a variety of foreign ions on the recognition, preconcentration, and removal of Pb(II) were evaluated using adsorption experiments in aqueous solution. The synthesized sorbent exhibited a good affinity with high adsorption capacity (Q = 80.81 mg/g) and an excellent selectivity toward Pb(II) in comparison with other common cations including alkaline, alkaline earth, and transition metals such as Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Cd 2+ , and Ni 2+ . The parameters such as adsorption and desorption time, adsorption capacity, effect of the sorbent mass, eluent type, concentration and volume, and also pH of the solutions were investigated. The result demonstrated that the proposed sorbent provided a fast removal and higher maximum binding capacity compared to other reported synthesized sorbents. The characteristics of the magnetic f-MWCNT/IIP were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and elemental analysis (EA). Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Imatinib mesylate is an anti‑neoplastic targeted chemotherapeutic agent, which can inhibit tyrosine kinase receptors, including BCR‑ABL, platelet‑derived growth factor receptors (PDGFRs) and c‑Kit. Cellular processes, including differentiation, proliferation and survival are regulated by these receptors. The present study aimed to evaluate the antiproliferative effects of imatinib mesylate, and its effects on apoptotic induction and cell cycle arrest in breast cancer cell lines. In addition, the study aimed to determine whether the effects of this drug were associated with the mRNA and protein expression levels of PDGFR‑β, c‑Kit, and their corresponding ligands PDGF‑BB and stem cell factor (SCF), which may potentially modulate cell survival and proliferation. To assess the antiproliferative effects of imatinib mesylate, an MTS assay was conducted following treatment of cells with 2‑10 µM imatinib mesylate for 96, 120 and 144 h; accordingly the half maximal inhibitory concentration of imatinib mesylate was calculated for each cell line. In addition, the proapoptotic effects and cytostatic activity of imatinib mesylate were investigated. To evaluate the expression of imatinib‑targeted genes, PDGFR‑β, c‑Kit, PDGF‑BB and SCF, under imatinib mesylate treatment, mRNA expression was detected using semi‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and protein expression was detected by western blot analysis in ZR‑75‑1 and MDA‑MB‑231 breast carcinoma cell lines. Treatment with imatinib mesylate suppressed cell proliferation, which was accompanied by apoptotic induction and cell cycle arrest in the investigated cell lines. In addition, PDGFR‑β, PDGF‑BB, c‑Kit and SCF were expressed in both breast carcinoma cell lines; PDGFR‑β and c‑Kit, as imatinib targets, were downregulated in response to imatinib mesylate treatment. The present results revealed that at least two potential targets of imatinib mesylate were expressed in the two breast carcinoma cell lines studied. In conclusion, the antiproliferative, cytostatic and proapoptotic effects of imatinib mesylate may be the result of a reduction in the expression of c‑Kit and PDGFR tyrosine kinase receptors, thus resulting in suppression of the corresponding ligand PDGF‑BB. Therefore, imatinib mesylate may be considered a promising target therapy for the future treatment of breast cancer.

A novel intelligent thermoresponsive-magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (TMMIP) nanocomposite based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) & Fe 3 O 4 was designed for the controlled & sustained release of Curcumin (CUR) with the ability to response external stimulus. The TMMIP nanocomposite was prepared using acryl functionalized β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and NIPAM as functional monomers and CUR as target molecule. The recognition cavities which caused by host-guest interactions had direct influence to enhanced drug loading and sustained release of CUR. According to in-vitro release experiment in two different temperatures (below & above LCST of NIPAM) the prolonged & controlled release of CUR were observed. The release rate could be controlled by changing the temperature because of the phase transition behavior of NIPAM monomer. Also, the proposed biosensor displayed effective role in separation science, reasonable adsorption capacity (77mgg -1 ), fast recognition (10min equilibration), selective extraction toward CUR in the presence of structural analogues and easily separation using external magnetic field. Moreover, the synthesized TMMIP was confirmed by various characterization., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A sensitive and selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the determination of diphenylamine (DPA) was developed based on host-guest interactions of a cyclodextrin-based polymer which possesses an inherent affinity for the target. The proposed GO@MIP has been prepared using the graphene oxide (GO) sheets as surface of polymerization, DPA as target molecule, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and acrylamide (AM) as functional monomers, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator and N, N methylene bisacrylamide (MBAm) as crosslinker which denoted as GO@MIP nanocomposite. The MIP sites were formed by the inclusion complex through interaction of DPA and β-CD, followed by extraction of target. The resulting GO@MIP nanocomposite possess a fast adsorption kinetics, highly improved imprinting effect, high adsorption capacity, and it can be applied to fast extraction of DPA. The resultant GO@MIP nanocomposite was characterized using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. On the other hand, the non-imprinted polymer (GO@NIP nanocomposite) has been synthesized and was used in the adsorption experiments. The MIP exhibited good affinity with a maximum adsorption capacity of 95.98mgg -1 and excellent selectivity toward DPA than other structural analogues such as 2-amino benzophenone and dithizone., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) make a unique group of strokes. Unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) are among the medications used for preventing blood coagulation. This study was carried out aiming at analyzing the cost effectiveness of LMWH versus UFH in hospitalized patients with stroke due to AF with respect to the Iranian population., Methods: This randomized study was an economic evaluation of cost effectiveness with the help of the cross-sectional data of 2013-2015. In this study, 74 patients had undergone treatment in two groups, before being evaluated. Half of the patients were treated by LMWH, while the other half was treated by UFH. Effectiveness criterion was prevention of new stroke recurrence., Results: Average medical direct costs, non-medical direct costs, and indirect costs of UFH were 110375 ± 40411$, 15594 ± 11511$, and 21723 ± 19933$, respectively. Same average medical direct costs, non-medical direct costs, and indirect costs of LMWH were 99573 ± 59143$, 9016 ± 17156$, and 10385 ± 10598$, respectively. The number of prevention of new strokes due to AF in LMWH and UFH was 2 and 0, respectively. Expected effectiveness in LMWH and UFH groups was 0.56 and 0.51, respectively. Moreover, the expected costs were 26737.61$ and 30776.18$, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for stroke due to AF was -150, 201, 26$ per prevention of stroke recurrence ( p -values ≤ 0/05)., Conclusion: The results of the cost-effectiveness analysis of LMWH versus UFH showed that LMWH is a dominant strategy for patients with stroke due to AF in Iranian population.

In this study, an electrospinning technique was used for the fabrication of novel biomedicated nanofibers which are applied for preventing wound infections and local chemotherapy. CURs containing nanofibers with a crosslinking agent (Si-O-Si network) have been produced through functionalization of graphene oxide with APTES. In vitro drug release profile results showed the novel nanofibers could limit the drug's initial burst release and provide better sustainability in comparison with the blend nanofibers without modified GO. The novel delivery vehicle can inhibit the growth of MRSA and S. epidermidis up to 94% and 88%. Also in vitro cell toxicity experiments which were performed by XTT method on MCF-7, HEP G2 and L929 cell lines showed that anticancer activity of CUR remained intact even after loading into nanofibers. This result suggested that the fGO-Si-CUR including nanofibers were a promising candidate for postoperative chemotherapy., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Anticoagulation with adjusted dose warfarin is a well-accepted treatment for the prevention of recurrent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Meanwhile, using bridging therapy with heparin or heparinoids before warfarin for initiation of anticoagulation is a matter of debate. We compared safety, efficacy, and tolerability of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) and unfractionated heparin (UFH) as a bridging method in patients with recent ischemic stroke due to atrial fibrillation., Method: This study was a randomized single-blind controlled trial in patients with acute ischemic stroke due to atrial fibrillation who were eligible for receiving warfarin and were randomly treated with 60 milligrams (mg) of LMWH (enoxaparin) subcutaneously every 12 h, or 1000 units/h of continuous intravenous heparin. The primary efficacy endpoints were recurrence of new ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction and/or death. The primary safety endpoint was central nervous system and/or systemic bleeding., Results: Seventy-four subjects were recruited. Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of two groups were matched. Composite endpoint outcome of new ischemic stroke, myocardial infarction, and/or death in follow-up period was seen in 10 subjects (27.03%) in UFH group and in four subjects (10.81%) in LMWH group (p value: 0.136). All hemorrhages and symptomatic central nervous system (CNS) hemorrhages in follow-up period were in 7 (18.9%) and 4 (10.8%) patients in UFH group, in 5 (13.5%), and 3 (8.1%) patients in LMWH group (p values: 0.754 and 0.751), respectively. Drop out and major adverse-effects such as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and drug hypersensitivity were not seen in any patient., Conclusion: Enoxaparin can be a safe and efficient alternative for UFH as bridging therapy.

In this study, a new colorimetric chemosensor based on TiO2/poly(acrylamide-co-methylenbisacrylamide) nanocomposites was designed for determination of mercury and lead ions at trace levels in environmental samples. The removal and preconcentration of lead and mercury ions on the sorbent was achieved due to sharing an electron pair of N and O groups of polymer chains with the mentioned heavy metal ions. The hydrogel sensor was designed by surface modification of a synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles using methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilan (MAPTMS), which provided a reactive C=C bond that polymerized the acrylamide and methylenbisacrylamide. The sorbent was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), EDS analysis and Fourier transform in frared (FT-IR) spectrometer. This nanostructured composite with polymer shell was developed as a sensitive and selective sorbent for adsorption of mercury and lead ions from aqueous solution at optimized condition. This method involves two-steps: (1) preconcentration of mercury and lead ions by the synthesized sorbent and (2) its selective monitoring of the target ions by complexation with dithizone (DZ). The color of the sorbent in the absence and presence of mercury and lead ions shifts from white to violet and red, respectively. The detection limit of the synthesized nanochemosensor for mercury and lead ions was 1 and 10 μg L(-1), respectively. The method was successfully applied for trace detection of mercury and lead ions in tap, river, and sea water samples., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Poly 1,8-diaminonaphthalene/multiwalled carbon nanotubes-COOH hybrid material as an effective sorbents in solid phase extraction has been developed for the separation and preconcentration of Cd(II) and Pb(II) at trace levels in environmental water samples. The results indicate that the novel nanocomposite show a high affinity for these heavy metals due to the presence of several good extractive sites, which are introduced to the synthesized nanocomposite The maximum adsorption capacity of the synthesized sorbent for cadmium and lead ions was found to be 101.2 and 175.2 mg g(-1) , respectively. The detection limits of this method were 0.09 and 0.7 ng ml(-1) for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively., (Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

This work is focused on the synthesis and controlled drug release behavior of 8-arm and 12-arm amphiphilic pH-responsive dendrimer-like block copolymers. To study the role of architecture and the number of arms at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) value, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), micelle size and in vitro controlled release of drug, we investigated a series of 8-arm and 12-arm block copolymers. The poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-carrying dendrimer-like block copolymers were synthesized in two main steps. First, a second-generation dendrimer-like poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was obtained by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (CL) from a bis and tris-hydroxylated core. For this goal, a conventional selective AB 2 -type branching agent for the PCL chain ends was designed: the latter includes a carboxyl (A) group for its attachment to the PCL arm ends and two geminal hydroxyls (B 2 ) for the reiteration of the PCL growth as second generation using ROP. Subsequently, the hydroxyl-end groups quantitatively converted into bromoester groups as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiating sites. The second step is the ATRP which thus served to grow poly(tBA) chains. After the hydrolysis of the t-butyl ester groups, amphiphilic, pH-responsive dendrimer-like block copolymers were obtained. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) demonstrated that the micelles exhibit a spherical shape with a size range of 43-64 nm in diameter. As a model drug, quercetin was loaded into the obtained 2G 3 (PAA) 8 and 3G 3 (PAA) 12 micelles via a dialysis method for in vitro release studies and their response to pH variation was investigated. The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of the polymers clearly showed that both compounds are safe in a wide range of concentrations (several times above the CMC value).

Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) as a model of an organic pollution was accomplished with magnetic and porous TiO(2)/ZnO/Fe(3)O(4)/PANI and ZnO/Fe(3)O(4)/PANI nanocomposites under visible light irradiation. The structures of nanocomposites were characterized by various techniques including UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, EDS, BET and TGA. Optical absorption investigations show two λ(max) at 450 and 590 nm for TiO(2)/ZnO/Fe(3)O(4)/PANI nanocomposites respectively possessing optical band gaps about 2.75 and 2.1 eV smaller than that of the neat TiO(2) and ZnO nanoparticles. Due to these optical absorptions, the nanocomposites can be considered promising candidates as visible light photocatalysts to produce more electron-hole pairs. The degradation of MO, extremely increased using polymeric photocatalysts and decolorization in the presence of visible light achieved up to 90% in less than 20 min in comparison with the neat nanoparticles (about 10%). All these advantages promise a bright future for these composites as useful photocatalysts. The degradation efficiency of MO using stable nanocomposites was still over 70% after ten times reusing. The highest decolorizing efficiencies were achieved with 0.75 g L(-1) of catalyst and 10 mg L(-1) of MO at natural pH under visible light irradiation in less than 20 min., (© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Photochemistry and Photobiology © 2012 The American Society of Photobiology.)

A new method which utilizes a multiwalled carbon nanotubes/poly(2-amino thiophenol) nanocomposites as an effective sorbents in solid-phase extraction has been developed for separation and preconcentration of Cd(II) and Pb(II) trace levels in environmental samples. The method is based on the adsorption of heavy metals on macromolecular chains due to sharing an electron pair of N and S groups of conducting polymer with cadmium and lead ions. The results indicate the novel nanocomposite presents a high affinity for heavy metals due to the presence of several good extractive sites (S and N) which are introduced to the synthesized nanocomposite. Some parameters including sample condition such as: pH, flow rate, sample volume, and eluent condition such as: type, volume, and concentration: moreover adsorption capacity of matrix ions was investigated on the recovery of Cd(II) and Pb(II). The maximum adsorption capacity of MWCNTs/P2AT nanocomposite as sorbents at optimum conditions for cadmium and lead ions was found to be 178.7 mg g(-1) and 186.4 mg g(-1), respectively. The detection limits of this method were 0.3 and 1 ng mL(-1) for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The validation of the presented procedure was checked by reference material analysis. Finally, the presented procedure was applied for determination of Cd(II) and Pb(II) in some environmental samples., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)