The relative roles of C4A and C4B in prevention of immune precipitation, solubilisation and immune adherence

Abstract

C4A and C4B levels were measured in serum from 246 normal individuals. Complement-mediated solubilisation, assayed using alkaline phosphatase anti-alkaline phosphatase immune complexes (IC), correlated with both C4A and C4B levels. However, C4A and C4B levels showed no correlation with solubilisation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) ICs, or with the prevention of immune precipitation of BSA or alkaline phosphatase ICs, nor with immune adherence assayed using thyroglobulin and BSA ICs.

Innovative technologies for high performance textiles

“…Antimicrobial and deodorising finishes A major growth concept over the last 5 years has been the introduction of the concept of durable freshness applied to all kinds of textile apparel, especially those which are worn under conditions of strenuous physical exertion, or in hot climates. The growth of bacteria on the perspiration entrapped into a garment can rapidly lead to the build-up of undesirable odours which then necessitates the garment being washed or dry cleaned to restore the freshness [86,87]. Garments such as intimate apparel, socks, gloves and especially textile products used in footwear clearly offer a large potential market for retention of freshness during wear.…”

“…-insolubilisation of the antimicrobial agent either in or on the fibre; -fibre treatment with resins, condensates or fibre crosslinking agents; -microencapsulation of the antimicrobial agent and durable binding of the microcapsules to the fibre; -coating of the fibre surface; -chemical modification of the fibre by covalent bond formation and -use of graft polymers, homopolymers and/or copolymerisation onto the fibre. The modern approaches to antimicrobial finishing have been summarised in detail elsewhere [86][87][88][92][93][94][95][96].…”

“…carpets, curtains, cushions, etc., as well as opportunities in textiles used in automotive textiles such as car seating and floor coverings, and textiles for other forms of transportation, e.g. trucks, buses, trains and aeroplanes [86–89]. Another important area is that of performance sportswear for all manner of physical activities.…”

“…As some lifestyles have become more active, sportswear, activewear and casualwear may become more easily contaminated by perspiration leading to bacterial growth and body odours [86–89]. A number of antimicrobial treatments are now on the market that can kill bacteria and enable garments to remain smelling fresh for longer [86–89]. An alternative approach is that of β ‐cyclodextrin which, with a suitable reactive group, could be covalently bound to cotton [93].…”

“…Antimicrobial finishes inhibit or preferably kill microorganisms by a number of different mechanisms that act around the cell wall of the microorganism [86–89,92]. Thus cell wall damage, alteration of cytoplasmic membrane permeability, alteration of the physical or chemical state of proteins and nucleic acids, inhibition of enzyme action, or inhibition of protein or nucleic acid synthesis are all chemical approaches that can be utilised by antimicrobial finishes to inhibit or kill the microorganism.…”