Contrast-enhanced
ultrasound (US) is a widely used imaging modality
for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis. Mostly, US imaging is confined
to the intravascular process because of the limitation of the microbubble
contrast agent currently utilized. Targeted contrast agents that incline
to accumulate in tumor tissue or tumor cells and enhance the US signal
may advance the sensitivity of ultrasonography and exploit the dimension
of US imaging of tumor at the molecular level. In this study, we developed
CaCO3/pul-PCB (CPP) hybrid nanoparticles with hepatoma-targeting
pullulan decorating on the surface through a mineralization route
using the pullulan-graft-poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate)
(pul-PCB) copolymer as a modifier. This particle was stable in blood
physiological pH and generated echogenic CO2 bubbles under
tumoral acidic conditions, which enabled the US signal enhancement.
Upon intravenous injection, CPP hybrid nanoparticles accumulated efficiently
in tumor tissue and exhibited sixfold contrast enhancement in 35 min
at the tumor site in the hepatoma-bearing mice model. By contrast,
there was barely any signal change in normal liver tissue. Therefore,
the presented CPP hybrid nanoparticle is a promising contrast agent
for effective US imaging of hepatoma.
For this study, aimed at proposing a potential direction to prevent sulfuric acid dew point corrosion, a Ni–Cr–Mo alloy Hastelloy C22 coating was fabricated by coaxial laser cladding technology. The phase composition, microstructure, and corrosion behavior in a simulated sulfuric acid dew point corrosion environment were investigated and compared with a Hastelloy C22 alloy, a titanium alloy TC4, and 09CrCuSb steel (ND). The results showed that the phase composition of the C22 coating is essentially similar to that of the C22 alloy, consisting of a γ-Ni solid solution and Ni6Mo6C1.06. The finer microstructure of the C22 coating mainly contains eutectic and dentrite, presenting a typical solidification feature of laser cladding. The corrosion resistance of the C22 coating is very close to that of the C22 alloy, and outclasses that of TC4 and ND. The corrosion behavior of the C22 coating is intergranular corrosion resulting from the segregation of molybdenum, chromium containing corrosion products, and smaller anode micro-batteries.
Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is a new type of polymer surface modification technology. This study is mainly about the changes in film surface structure and physicochemical properties of whey protein concentrate (WPC)/wheat cross-linked starch (WCS) composite films after DBD plasma treatment with different plasma parameters. The results show that the proper plasma treatment parameters (400 W to 60 s) can increase the surface roughness, tensile strength, barrier properties, and thermal stability of the edible film and decrease elongation at break and the water contact angle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction showed that DBD plasma treatment could increase the content of oxygen-containing groups on the WPC/WCS film surfaces instead of damaging the internal crystal structure. The results showed that use of proper DBD plasma treatment technology has a positive effect on the mechanical and barrier properties and thermal stability of WPC/WCS films.Keywords: dielectric barrier discharge plasma, mechanical properties, surface roughness, thermal stability, whey protein concentrate/cross-linked wheat-starch film Practical Application: DBD plasma treatment can improve the mechanical, barrier, and thermal properties of WPC/WCS films without generating any pollution. The DBD plasma can be potentially applied in the enhancement of edible film properties. WPC/WCS films are more environmentally friendly than plastics and can be a replacement for traditional plastics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.