This paper presents a review of imaging techniques and of their utility in system biology. During the last decade systems biology has matured into a distinct field and imaging has been increasingly ...used to enable the interplay of experimental and theoretical biology. In this review, we describe and compare the roles of microscopy, ultrasound, CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), PET (Positron Emission Tomography), and molecular probes such as quantum dots and nanoshells in systems biology. As a unified application area among these different imaging techniques, examples in cancer targeting are highlighted.
This study investigated experimental equilibrium solubilities of Jatropha curcas and Aquiliaria crassna oils dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide at temperatures of 318–338K and pressures of 20, ...25, 30, 35MPa. The highest solubility of J. curcas and A. crassna oil were 29.8 and 28.4mgL−1, respectively, at 338K and 35MPa. The oil solubilities and the concentration of triglycerides both increased with increasing temperature and pressure. Triglyceride molecules surrounded by carbon dioxide molecules may be proposed since solubilities increased with the flux of supercritical carbon dioxide. The solubility of these two oils linearly increased with the density of supercritical carbon dioxide. Experimental data of the oil solubility were successfully correlated by the Chrastil equation.
It is a new and explosive study of supercritical anti-solvent precipitation applied for purification of algal anti-tyrosinase zeaxanthin of Nannochloropsis oculata. Display omitted
▶ Nannochloropsis ...oculata with high content of algal zeaxanthin was cultivated by sea water. ▶ The extract of microalgae was fractionated by elution chromatography and was then purified by supercritical anti-solvent. ▶ Sub-micron zeaxanthin-rich particulates presented anti-tyrosinase ability.
This work investigated the changes in content of algal zeaxanthin in submicronized precipitates generated from the supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process of extracting microalgae Nannochloropsis oculata. Following a reverse phase elution chromatography, the particulates were successfully generated from feed solutions containing zeaxanthin that ranged from 0.4 to 0.8mg/mL by a SAS process. The precipitation condition was set at 323K and pressures ranged from 10 to 20MPa. Experimental results of a three-factor center composite response surface method for the SAS process indicated that the size of the precipitates was significantly affected by the flow rate of carbon dioxide. The purity of zeaxanthin increased with increasing solvent flow rate and with reducing solution concentration. The recovery of zeaxanthin and the morphology of the precipitates was also examined. The content of zeaxanthin in submicronsized precipitates increased from 485.9 (48.6%) to 673.7mg/g (67.4%). This work demonstrates that elution chromatography coupled with a SAS process is an environmentally benign method to recover anti-tyrosinase zeaxanthin from Nannochloropsis oculata as well as to generate submicrosized precipitates of the purest zeaxanthin from algal solutions.
In this study experimental P--T--x--y equilibrium data for four binary mixtures over a wide range of pressure (10*44--23*54MPa) were determined at 313K and 333K. Liquid and vapor densities of carbon ...dioxide+four fatty acid ester systems, including oleic acid methyl ester, linoleic acid methyl ester, eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester, and docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester were measured by using two circulating systems consisting of two vibrating tube densitometers. The vapor--phase density was observed to increase more significantly with pressure than the liquid--phase density at constant temperature. Experimental equilibrium constants of oleic acid methyl ester and linoleic acid methyl ester were found to be larger than those of eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester, docosahaxaenoic acid ethyl ester, linoleic acid, triolein, and tocopherol. This indicates that the two methylated fatty acids would be extracted easier than the other compounds in a separation process using supercritical CO2 extraction. The equilibrium data were successfully correlated using the Peng--Robinson and modified Soave--Redlich--Kwong equations of state with quadratic (two parameters), Panagiotopoulos--Reid (three parameters), and Adachi--Sugie (three parameters) mixing rules. In general, the Soave--Redlich--Kwong equation of state with the Panagiotopoulos--Reid mixing rules and the quadratic mixing rules give the best correlation for methylated fatty acids and ethylated fatty acids, respectively.
This study examined time dependent continuous supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) recrystallization applied for purifying and generating zeaxanthin rich particulates from micro-algal
Nannochloropsis ...oculata. Feed solutions varied from 0.4 to 1.2
mg/ml subjected into a 250
ml SAS crystallizer to yield a few classifications of nano- or micro-sized purified precipitates corresponding to different recrystallization time zones. The effect of operational conditions on amount, recovery of the zeaxanthin and mean size, morphology of the precipitates was obtained from experimentally designed SAS process. The mean size of particles falls within several hundreds of nanometers and the content of zeaxanthin in the particulates range from 65 to 71%, which relies highly upon the recrystallization time. This work demonstrated an environmental benign process in producing nano- or micro-sized particles containing rich-zeaxanthin from algal solution by using supercritical anti-solvent within minutes.
This study investigates a semicontinuous hot pressurized fluid extraction process and the scavenging activity on the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical of the extract from Taiwan yams ...(Dioscorea alata). Liquid−liquid extractions were preliminarily employed to generate six fractions, initially extracted by ethanol. Then, the aqueous solution of dried crude ethanol extract was sequentially fractionated by hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol. The EC50 value was defined as the UV absorption of DPPH concentrations sufficiently decreased to 50% of the original value. It was found that all peel portions have a better effect on scavenging of the DPPH free radical than meat portions, especially for the ethyl acetate partition of the peel portion of Tainung #2 yam. Its EC50 value (14.5 μg mL-1) was even lower than that of ascorbic acid (21.4 μg mL-1). Furthermore, semicontinuous hot pressurized ethanol was superior to hot pressurized water in extracting the compound scavenging the DPPH radical from the Purpurea-Roxb peel. The recovery of four unknown compounds corresponded to the scavenging ratio of DPPH free radical in the hot pressurized ethanol extract. Finally, three-level and four-factor experimental design revealed that ethanol ratio and temperature were the most effective factors in order. Conditions of 80% of aqueous ethanol, 20.0 kg/kg solid ratio, 180 psig (1.342 MPa), and 100 °C were preferred to extract those antioxidants from the yam peel. Keywords: Dioscorea alata; DPPH free radical; hot pressurized water; experimental design
In this work an apparatus is described with which VLE equilibrium data for CO
2+linoleicacid, CO
2+α-tocopherol, and CO
2+triolein over a wide range of pressures and temperatures are obtained. Liquid ...and vapor densities for these systems were separately measured using a system consisting of two vibrating tube densitometers. A
P–
x–
y diagram of each system was determined at 313
K and 333
K, and pressures up to 24.21
MPa. Linoleic acid is the most soluble compound in CO
2 at both temperatures and exhibits the greatest distribution coefficient. At constant temperature, the solubility of each compound in the vapor phase increased with increasing pressure.
Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world and the main cause of death in China. Ischemic stroke accounts for 70% of the total number of stroke. Endovascular mechanical thrombectomy has ...been recognized as an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) recently, however, the percentage of patients who were subject to poor prognosis and had relatively high morbidity and mortality is about 50%. The development of mechanical thrombectomy makes it possible to collect thrombus retrieved from intravascular therapy for more histopathological researches. It allows more complete extraction of human thrombus for histological analysis, while avoiding the limitations of invitro and animal experiments. This article reviews the progress of thrombus histopathology, thrombus imaging, thrombus histopathology and etiology classification, thrombus histopathology and intravascular therapy, in order to explore the pathophysiological mechanism of thrombosis and provide potential targets for the diagnosis and t
Bone metastasis in lung cancer results in an unfavorable outcome for patients by not only impairing the quality of life, yet also increasing the cancer-related death rates. In the present study, we ...discuss a novel treatment strategy that may benefit these patients. Human CD14+ monocytes treated with macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF)/receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) differentiated into osteoclasts, whereas syringetin (SGN), a flavonoid derivative found in both grapes and wine, suppressed the osteoclastogenesis in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, SGN inhibited osteoclast formation induced by human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and CL1-5 cells. The associated signaling transduction pathway in osteoclastogenesis and SGN inhibition was found to be via the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Blocking AKT and mTOR by respective inhibitors significantly decreased lung adenocarcinoma-mediated osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, SGN regulated the lung adenocarcinoma-mediated interaction between osteoblasts and osteoclasts by suppressing the stimulatory effect of lung adenocarcinoma on M-CSF and RANKL production in osteoblasts, and reversing the inhibitory effect of the lung adenocarcinoma on OPG production in osteoblasts. The present study has two novel findings. It is the first to illustrate lung adenocarcinoma-mediated interaction between osteoblasts and osteoclasts, leading to osteolytic bone metastasis. It also reveals that SGN, a flavonoid derivative, directly inhibits osteoclastogenesis and reverses lung adenocarcinoma-mediated osteoclastogenesis. In conclusion, the present study suggests that SGN, a natural compound, prevents and treats bone metastasis in patients with lung cancer.
Lung cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. In Taiwan, lung cancer is also the type of malignancy that is the major cause of cancer-mortality. Investigating the ...mechanism of apoptosis of lung cancer cells is important in the treatment of lung cancer. In the present study, isolinderalactone was demonstrated to exhibit anticancer effects in A549 human non-small cell lung cancer cells. The effect of isolinderalactone on apoptosis, cell cycle distribution p21 levels and the Fas receptor and soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) were assayed in order to determine the mechanism underlying the anticancer effect of isolinderalactone. It was demonstrated that isolinderalactone may induce p21 expression and then cause the cell cycle arrest of A549 cells. The data of the present study also revealed that the Fas/sFasL apoptotic system is significant in the mechanism of isolinderalactone-induced apoptosis of A549 cells. These novel findings demonstrated that isolinderalactone may cause the cell cycle arrest of A549 cells by induction of p21, and induce apoptosis of A549 human non-small-cell lung carcinoma cells through the Fas/sFasL apoptotic system.
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