碳离子辐照细胞的相对生物学效率

研究了传能线密度 (LET)≥ 1 2 5.5keV μm的碳离子辐照小鼠黑色素瘤B1 6、人的宫颈癌HeLa、中国仓鼠肺V79、人的肝癌SMMC 772 1 4种细胞的相对生物学效率 (RBE) .得到了当LET =1 2 5.5keV μm时 ,RBE依赖于细胞种类并随细胞存活水平的升高而增加的关系 ,以及当LET≥ 1 2 5.5keV μm时 ,RBE随着LET的增大而变小的关系

三种瘤细胞对重离子和γ射线的辐射敏感性

目的　比较体外培养的瘤细胞对重离子和γ射线的辐射敏感性。方法　以人肝癌SMMC 772 1、宫颈癌HeLa和小鼠黑色素瘤B16细胞为材料 ,用集落形成法研究了细胞经γ射线和重离子处理后的存活情况。结果　细胞经γ射线处理后均表现为有肩区的存活曲线 ,属多靶击中模型。细胞经重离子处理后表现为无肩区的存活曲线 ,属单靶击中模型 ,在细胞存活分数为 5 0 %和 10 %时得到SMMC 772 1、HeLa、B16细胞的RBE值分别为 3 40、2 76、4 6 7和 1 88、1 5 3、2 2 2。结论　在相同剂量下 ,重离子能更有效地杀灭瘤细胞

重离子与X射线沿水介质入射深度诱导癌细胞失活的比较

采用Hela、B16两种细胞分别研究了X射线和重离子在水介质中入射的深度与相应细胞的存活率 (1-失活率 )。结果表明 :X射线与重离子在入射深度与细胞存活关系上有明显不同的变化规律。X射线的入射深度与其细胞存活率呈高度正相关性 ,r =0 .92 ;而重离子通过路径的细胞损伤率较小、且有一个细胞存活较高的坪区 (86 %— 92 % ) ,到射程末端细胞损伤率剧增 ,出现倒Bragg峰。提示 :重离子在深层肿瘤治疗上具有比X射线好的深度治疗分布

A new potential radiosensitizer- multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified by ammonium persulfate

Here we prepare carbon nanotubes modified with ammonium persulfate, very short carbon nanotubes with 50-100 nanometer length was obtained, and the higher P potential of 52 mV was detected, these supporting the successful modification. HeLa cells were irradiated with P rays via adding or absent above functionalized carbon nanotubes (f- WCNTs) into cell culture medium with different concentration and radiation dosage. Confocal microscopy images and fluorescence-labeled DNA detection verified the successfully pure multi-walled carbon nanotubes (p-WCNTs) and f-WCNTs penetrated into cells. Compared with pure radiation, by MTT test, f-WCNTs induced cell death markedly with about 8.7 times higher than former one under little dose of radiation; meanwhile, no obvious toxicity was observed both in p-WCNTs and f-WCNTs without of radiation exposure. We hypothesized that large amount of hydroxyl and carbonyl organs on the surface of very short f-WCNTs changed into free radicals result from radiations led cell damage. These implied that f-WCNTs could be regarded as a new radiosensitizer.

BRCA1 and its phosphorylation involved in caffeine-inhibitable event upstream of G2 checkpoint

Caffeine, which specifically inhibits ATM/ATR kinases, efficiently abrogates the ionizing radiation (IR)-induced G2 arrest and increases the sensitivity of various tumor cells to IR. Mechanisms for the effect of caffeine remain to be elucidated. As a target of ATM/ATR kinases, BRCA1 becomes activated and phosphorylated in response to IR. Thus, in this work, we investigated the possible role of BRCA1 in the effect of caffeine on G2 checkpoint and observed how BRCA1 phosphorylation was regulated in this process. For these purposes, the BRCA1 protein level and the phosphorylation states were analyzed by Western blotting by using an antibody against BRCA1 and phospho-specific antibodies against Ser-1423 and Ser-1524 residues in cells exposed to a combination of IR and caffeine. The results showed that caffeine down-regulated IR-induced BRCA1 expression and specifically abolished BRCA1 phosphorylation of Ser-1524, which was followed by an override of G2 arrest by caffeine. In addition, the ability of BRCA1 to transactivate p21 may be required for MCF-7 but not necessary for Hela response to caffeine. These data suggest that BRCA1 may be a potential target of caffeine. BRCA1 and its phosphorylation are most likely to be involved in the caffeine-inhibitable event upstream of G2 arrest.

碳离子束联合p53腺病毒重组体转染对肿瘤细胞生物学效应研究

肿瘤是严重威胁人类生命健康的常见病、多发病，不仅病因复杂、发生发展异常迅速，而且到目前为止，发病机理不完全清楚，尚无适应范围广和有特异疗效的治疗方法。因此，肿瘤治疗方法的探索依然是医学、生物学及其相关学科研究的热点。肿瘤的重离子治疗和基因治疗是近年来发展起来的新的肿瘤治疗方法。但它们同样或多或少存在一些不足。在肿瘤治疗方法的探索中，将两种或两种以上理化特性或生物学作用原理不尽相同的现有治疗方法有机结合，充分利用各自优势，取长补短，使治疗效果叠加，对肿瘤发挥协同或相加抑制作用。本研究将重离子辐射与p53腺病毒重组体(AdCMV-p53)转染有机结合，探讨了重离子辐射联合p53基因转导对肿瘤细胞的生物学作用及其可能机理。在低剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53/GFP转染HT-29和PC-3细胞研究基础上，我们用不同剂量的AdCMV-p53/GFP转染经0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy、2.0 Gy 12C6+束/γ射线预辐射处理的人非小细胞肺癌(H1299细胞系，nullp53)，人肝癌细胞(HepG2细胞系，wtp53)和人宫颈癌细胞(Hela细胞系，wtp53，wtp53低水平表达)。用流式细胞分析法检测肿瘤细胞绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)、p53蛋白表达水平和细胞周期。DAPI染色后用荧光显微镜检测细胞凋亡。用RT-PCR检测外源性p53转录。用Western Blot检测外源性p53、MDM2和p21蛋白表达。用克隆形成法测定肿瘤细胞存活。通过与γ辐射联合腺病毒重组体转染组比较，观察了12C6+ 辐射联合腺病毒重组体转染对肿瘤细胞外源性p53蛋白表达、细胞周期阻滞、细胞凋亡和细胞增殖的影响。结果显示，12C6+ 辐射对AdCMV-GFP转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞的诱导作用明显强于γ辐射(p<0.05)。与γ辐射诱导AdCMV-GFP转染组相比，0.5 Gy 12C6+束辐射联合20 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组H1299细胞GFP阳性率增加约50% (其GFP阳性率提高到约90%)。0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy 12C6+辐射联合40 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组HepG2细胞GFP阳性率增加约44%(其阳性率分别达56.6%和76.4%)。0.5 Gy、1.0 Gy 12C6+ 束辐射联合40 MOI AdCMV-p53转染组Hela细胞GFP阳性率分别增加37.8%和50%(其阳性率分别达43.4%和59.8%)。12C6+ 辐射对AdCMV-p53转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞外源性p53蛋白表达的增强作用明显强于γ辐射(p<0.05)。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组各种细胞p53阳性率明显高于其它处理组同种细胞p53阳性率(p<0.05)。转染后第5天，γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组3种细胞p53阳性率均降至对照水平。转染后第13天，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组3种细胞p53阳性率仍高达6－44%。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299细胞G0/G1、G2/M期细胞所占比例明显高于其它处理组G0/G1、G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。与γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组相比，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G0/G1期细胞增加6－36%，G2/M期细胞增加了13－86%。12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染HepG2细胞G0/G1期细胞所占比例明显高于其它处理组G0/G1期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)；转染后第5天，1.0、2.0 Gy 12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G2/M期细胞所占比例明显高于γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。各12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染Hela细胞G0/G1和G2/M期细胞所占比例均明显高于单纯12C6+ 辐射组和γ射线辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组G0/G1和G2/M期细胞所占比例(p<0.05)。各12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299、HepG2和Hela细胞凋亡率明显高于等剂量12C6+ 单纯辐射和等剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组细胞凋亡率(p<0.05)。与等剂量单纯12C6+辐射和等剂量γ辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染组相比，12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染H1299细胞凋亡率分别增加8.0－66.0%和9.3－63.5%；12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染HepG2细胞凋亡率分别增加0.8－32.7%和4.5－27.1%； 12C6+束辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染Hela细胞凋亡率分别增加4.8－30.7%和3.1－22.7%。低剂量12C6+ 辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染细胞存活率明显低于其它处理组同种细胞存活率(p<0.05)。结果提示，低剂量碳离子辐射对腺病毒重组体转染肿瘤细胞和靶细胞内外源p53蛋白表达的促进作用明显强于低剂量γ辐射。碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染通过促进外源性p53转导、靶细胞外源性p53蛋白表达、细胞周期阻滞和细胞凋亡等增强对肿瘤细胞的抑制。碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染对肿瘤细胞生物学作用与肿瘤细胞内在p53基因状态有关。总之，我们的研究表明，低剂量碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染，可通过促进腺病毒重组体对肿瘤细胞的转染、增强靶细胞外源性p53蛋白稳定表达及其由此而诱发的细胞周期阻滞与细胞凋亡等有效抑制肿瘤细胞。在临床上，碳离子辐射联合AdCMV-p53转染有望在提高肿瘤治疗效果的基础上，进一步降低碳离子辐射与AdCMV-p53转染的各自临床用量，减少碳离子辐射的毒副作用，降低AdCMV-p53转染的潜在生物危险性

12C6+束和Mitomycin C 诱导的DNA损伤效应

本文旨在分别研究重离子束及MMC在诱导细胞的DNA损伤效应中一些具体的分子机制，为治疗的进行以及相关辅助药物的开发提供理论依据。本文探索的重点有两个，第一个是重离子束辐射诱导的DNA损伤效应及p53在其中的激活，第二个是MMC诱导的DNA损伤效应及p53和BRCA1、H2AX等分子在其中的角色。 1. 12C6+离子束诱导HeLa细胞DNA损伤效应为了研究HeLa细胞经过12C6+ 束辐照之后的DNA损伤效应，及这个过程中p53激活的分子机制。我们运用中性单细胞电泳技术，检测了HeLa细胞经过4Gy 12C6+ 束辐照0h、3h、6h和12h之后DNA的损伤情况，以及0.5Gy、1Gy、2Gy和4Gy 12C6+ 束辐照0h后的DNA损伤情况。同时运用细胞生长实时监测仪监测了HeLa细胞在经过0Gy、0.5Gy和1Gy 12C6+ 束辐照之后的生长变化，并运用AO/EB双染检测了辐照24小时后的凋亡情况。另外，利用8mmol/L的caffeine（抑制ATM和ATR）和20μmol/L的wortmannin（抑制ATM和DNA-PK）处理HeLa细胞后再进行1Gy 12C6+ 束辐照，通过western blot检测p53的表达。结果显示，12C6+ 束辐照可造成HeLa细胞的DNA损伤，损伤随剂量升高而升高但随时间降低；并诱导HeLa细胞发生凋亡；而且辐照后p53表达升高，但经过caffeine或者wortmannin预先处理的细胞p53均没有显著升高。我们的结论是：12C6+ 束辐照可造成HeLa细胞的DNA损伤并诱导损伤修复及凋亡等效应，损伤效应相关的分子p53被激活，并且激活依赖于ATM。 2. MMC诱导的DNA损伤效应在这一部分研究中，首先，我们利用与上面相同的研究方法，探讨了p53在MMC诱导的DNA损伤效应中的激活情况，结果显示，MMC诱导的DNA损伤效应并不依赖于p53。另外，我们还探讨了， BRCA1在FANCD2的γ-H2AX依赖性转移中的作用。MMC可造成DNA的ICL（interstrand cross-link）损伤，ICL可通过FA(Fanconi Anemia)通路进行修复。FANCD2是FA通路的核心分子，在DNA产生ICL时被各种分子修饰然后转移到损伤部分，这个过程的涉及到ATR、γ-H2AX及BRCA1等，本文试图探讨BRCA1在其中的作用方式。研究中，我们监测了不同处理（包括对照、caffeine（可抑制ATR）、MMC及MMC ＋caffeine）的HCC1937(BRCA1缺陷型)和MCF7（BRCA1野生型）细胞的生长；并用Western blot检测MMC处理之后HCC1937细胞γ-H2AX的表达情况。结果表明，MMC和caffeine均可以抑制HCC1937的生长，但caffeine和MMC+caffeine的抑制效果是一样的；MMC和caffeine均可以抑制MCF7的生长，且MMC+caffeine处理比仅进行caffeine处理的抑制作用强；MMC处理之后，HCC1937的γ-H2AX表达显著升高。我们的结论是，在FANCD2的γ-H2AX依赖性转移中，H2AX的磷酸化并不依赖于BRCA1，不过，BRCA1和ATR应该参与一个相同的分子事件，可能是FANCD2的磷酸化。这个有待进一步的实验验证

重离子束治癌相关生物学效应及机理研究

重离子束治癌是当今放射治疗中最科学、最先进、最有效的方法，是有代表性的高技术。目前仅有美、日、德实现了该技术，并已取得常规疗法难以实现的疗效。我国近年来开展了“重离子束治癌技术的基础研究”，其中，放射生物学及机理研究是重要内容。本论文从细胞、DNA分子、以及动物个体的三个不同层次上分别研究了重离子束治癌相关的生物学问题。在细胞研究方面。采用HeLa、B 16两种细胞分别研究了X一射线和重离子在水介质中入射的深度与相应细胞的存活率(1一失活率)，结果表明：X一射线对细胞的损伤随深度而逐渐衰减(或细胞存活随深度逐渐增加)，而重离子对细胞的损伤则为Bragg曲线(或细胞存活为倒Bragg曲线)。研究了25MeV／u ~(40)Ar~(14+)辐照人肝癌细胞SMMC一7721的微核及存活的动态变化，结果表明： 单次照射与分次照射的微核率随时间的变化规律在96h内没有明显区别，受照(单次、分次) 肝癌细胞的存活数随时间表现出衰减趋势，微核率与细胞存活数关系的动态变化为负相关性。研究了6MV X-射线和125．5keV／μm的重离子辐照B 1 6、V79细胞的2Gy存活率(SF2)，结果表明：B16和V79细胞的存活率(P<0．01)依赖于不同的辐射性质(X-射线、~(12)C离子)，其X-射线与~(12)C离子辐射这两种细胞的存活率之比分别为5．4和1．43，即~(12)C离子辐射增强了X-射线抗性细胞系的敏感性，从而显示了重离子治疗癌症的优势。研究了125．5keV／um的碳离子辐照小鼠黑色素瘤B16、人的宫颈癌HeLa、中国仓鼠肺V79、人的肝癌SMMC-7721四种细胞的相对生物学效率(RBE)，得．到了RBE依赖于细胞种类的关系、RBE随细胞存活水平的升高而增加的关系、以及当LET≥125．5keV／μm时，RBE随着LET的增大而变小的关系。在DNA分子研究方面。研究了125．5keV／μm~(12)C~(6+)辐照小鼠黑色素瘤B 16、中国仓鼠肺V79、人的宫颈癌HeLa、人的肝癌SMMC一7721细胞的灵敏度(由D50表示)、DNA双链断裂(DSB)和DNA双链断裂片段分布，结果表明：细胞敏感性与DNA双链断裂之间没有一致的关系，提出了细胞辐射敏感性的一种可能的分子机理，即DNA序列敏感性位点协同DNA双链断裂互补性机理。由此解释了四种细胞系的不同敏感性问题。在动物个体研究方面。研究了57．28MeV／u氧离子50Gy一次性局部照射对B16黑色素瘤小鼠肿瘤生长的抑制作用，并观测了受照小鼠的死亡情况，结果表明：照射B16黑色素瘤后第10天观察，肿瘤生长延迟为6天、肿瘤抑制率为66％，耐受剂量小于50Gy。研究了50MeV／u ~(12)C~(6+)离子辐照对小鼠移植性肿瘤S180的抑制作用、控制率、治愈率和病理组织学变化，结果表明：各剂量组对S180肉瘤的抑制作用均大于90％，高剂量组抑瘤作用明显强于低、中剂量组(P

γ射线诱导的细胞周期阻滞和适应性反应研究

高剂量电离辐射对健康造成危害，这一点是比较肯定的，而目前人们更关心的是低剂量辐射的健康风险问题。由于缺乏直接的研究数据，低剂量辐射的效应最初是根据线性无闰（LNT）假说推测出来的，推测结果认为任何程度的辐射，无论剂量有多小，对健康都是有害的。但是，LNT假说从提出之日起就受到质疑。近20年的大量实验研究揭示，低剂量辐射可诱导机体和细胞的兴奋效应，低剂量辐射使细胞恶性转化或人群癌症发生率下降，低剂量辐射预先作用减轻继后高剂量照射所造成的有害效应。目前，人们已尝试性地将低剂量辐射效应应用于肿瘤的治疗。本工作以60C0Y射线（0．3oG到min）对肿瘤细胞进行不同的照射：A，假照射，B，scGy照射，c，scGy照射后4h或8h再以3Gy照射，D，3Gy照射。照射后测定细胞周期和克隆存活率。分析了scGyY射线对不同肿瘤细胞细胞周期的影响，scGyY射线诱导的克隆存活适应性反应与细胞周期阻滞适应性反应之间的相关性。最后讨论了本研究结果在肿瘤放射治疗中的潜在应用。本工作结果总结如下：1，scGy丫射线引起hepGZ、HeLa、sMMc-7721和Ho-8910细胞在GZ脑期发生短暂延迟（大致到辐射后4小时），说明细胞周期检查点对损伤非常敏感，很低剂量的辐射即可使之激活。在经过短暂的延迟之后，hePGZ细胞的生长明显加快，照射后24h和48h的相对细胞数分别是对照的124％和216％。结果表明scGy7射线能促进hePGZ细胞的生长。2．3Gyy射线照射后，hepGZ、sMMc-7721和Ho-8910细胞的GZ／M期细胞明显累积，并在照射后12h达到最大值，S期细胞在辐射后6h有一显著累积，此后下降至对照水平。3Gγ照射后的18h内，HeL。细胞的GZ／M期细胞和S期细胞均明显累积。结果表明，3Gyγ射线照射后，hePGZ、sMMc-7721和HO-8910细胞发生GZ／M阻滞，S期短暂延迟，而HeLa细胞的GZ／M期和S期均发生较长时间的延迟，说明HeLa细胞的辐射敏感性和其他三种细胞不一样。这一结果对肿瘤的放射治疗有参考价值。3．在3GyY射线照射之前4h预先照射scGy可使hePGZ和L02细胞在GZ／M期进一步累积，而对HeLa细胞的周期分布没有明显影响，这一结果也说明HeLa细胞的辐射敏感性与其他细胞有差异。4．在3Gyγ射线照射之前8h预先照射scGy可以促进hePGZ细胞通过GZ／M期阻滞。无论两次辐射之间的间隔为4h还是8h，预照射均可诱导hePGZ细胞克降存活适应性反应。这些结果表明，克隆存活适应性反应和细胞周期阻滞适应性反应不是同步出现的，说明克隆存活适应性反应的产生可能并不一定需要细胞从阻滞状态中的恢复，因此，推测这两个方面的适应性反应有一定联系但没有必然相关性。

Multifunctional G-Quadruplex Aptamers and Their Application to Protein Detection

Two significant G-quadruplex aptamers named AGRO100 and T30695 are identified as multi functional aptamers that can bind the protein ligands nucleolin or HIV-1 integrase and hemin. Besides their strong binding to target proteins, both AGRO100 and T30695 exhibit high hemin-binding affinities comparable to that of the known aptamer (termed PS2M) selected by the in vitro evolution process. Most importantly, their corresponding hemin-DNA complexes reveal excellent peroxidase-like activities. higher than that of the reported hemin-PS2M DNAzyme. This enables these multifunctional aptamers to be applied to the sensitive detection of proteins. which is demonstrated by applying AGRO100 to the chemiluminescence detection of nucleolin expressed at the surface of HeLa cells. Based on the specific AGRO100-nucleolin interaction, the surface-expressed nucleolin of HeLa cells is labeled in situ with the hemin-AGRO100 DNAzyme, and then determined in the luminol-H2O2 system.

Sensitive and Selective Sensor for Biothiols in the Cell Based on the Recovered Fluorescence of the CdTe Quantum Dots-Hg(II) System

Herein, a sensitive and selective sensor for biothiols based on the recovered fluorescence of the CdTe quantum dots (QDs)-Hg(II) system is reported. Fluorescence of QDs could be quenched greatly by Hg(II). In the presence of biothiols, such as glutathione (GSH), homocysteine (Hcy), and cysteine (Cys), however, Hg(H) preferred to react with them to form the Hg(II)-S bond because of the strong affinity with the thiols of biothiols rather than quenching the fluorescence of the QDs. Thus, the fluorescence of CdTe QDs was recovered. The restoration ability followed the order GSH > Hcy > Cys due to the decreased steric hindrance effect. A good linear relationship was obtained from 0.6 to 20.0 mu mol L-1 for GSH and from 2.0 to 20.0 mu mol L-1 for Cys, respectively. The detection limits of GSH and Cys were 0.1 and 0.6 mu mol L-1, respectively. In addition, the method showed a high selectivity for Cys among the other 19 amino acids. Furthermore, it succeeded in detecting biothiols in the Hela cell.

One-Step Synthesis of Folic Acid Protected Gold Nanoparticles and Their Receptor-Mediated Intracellular Uptake

We report here a facile method to obtain folic acid (FA)-protected gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) by heating an aqueous solution of HAuCl4/FA in which FA acts as both the reducing and stabilizing agent. The successful formation of FA-protected Au NPs is demonstrated by UV/Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). ne intracellular uptake of these nanoparticles is facilitated by HeLa cells overexpressing the folate reporter, which itself is significantly inhibited by free FA in a competitive assay as quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). This simple one-step approach affords a new perspective for creating functional nanomaterials, and the resulting biocompatible, functional Au NPs may find some prospective applications in various biomedical fields.

Core Crosslinking of Biodegradable Block Copolymer Micelles Based on Poly(ester carbonate)

A biodegradable amphiphilic block copolymer, PEG-b-P(LA-co-MAC), was used to prepare spherical micelles consisting of a hydrophobic P(LA-co-MAC) core and a hydrophilic PEG shell. To improve their stability, the micelles were crosslinked by radical polymerization of the double bonds in the hydrophobic blocks. The crosslinked micelles had similar sizes and a narrow size distribution compared to their uncrosslinked precursor. The improved stability of the crosslinked micelles was confirmed by measurements of the CMC and a thermodynamic investigation. These micelles can internalize into Hela cells in vitro as demonstrated by inverted fluorescence microscopy and CLSM. These stabilized nanoscale micelles have potential use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery and disease diagnosis.

Functional gold nanoparticles for studying the interaction of lectin with glycosyl complex on living cellular surfaces

In this study. lectin-conjugated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared by standard biotin-streptavidin chemistry. The lectin-conjugated GNPs call be used as ail indicator for studying the interaction of lectin with glycosyl complex on living cellular Surfaces due to the high affinity of the lectin with saccharides. The interactions of two well-known lectins (Ricinus communis agglutinin and concanavalin A) and three different cell lines (HeLa, 293, and 293T) were selected here to establish this assay. Highly binding affinity of R. communis agglutinin with cells was demonstrated by conventional microscopic and UV-visible spectroscopic Studies. In addition, the binding process can be inhibited by galactose, giving further proof of the binding mechanism. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Folate-Conjugated Micelles and Their Folate-Receptor-Mediated Endocytosis

A folate-conjugated copolymer PEG-PLA-PLL/folate was synthesized and mixed with pure PEG-PLA-PLL and a fluorescent model drug mFITC to prepare folate-conjugated micelles. The distribution of micelles was studied on cancer-cell-bearing mice via frozen slicing. The results show that mFITC is successfully encapsulated into folate(+) and folate(-)micelles; PEG-PLA-PLL micelles the latter can be internalized by both HeLa and CHO cells without selectivity due to their cationic surface charges, while folate(+)micelles exhibit more preferential endocytosis by HeLa cells than by CHO cells. The folate(-)micelles showed retention in both organs and tumors. The folate(+)micelles are a promising active targeting drug delivery system for FR over-expressing cells and they accumulate in tumor beds.