CONTROL OF DIMENSIONAL STABILITY AND DEGRADATION RATE IN ELECTROSPUN COMPOSITE SCAFFOLDS COMPOSED OF POLY(D,L-LACTIDE-co-GLYCOLIDE) AND POLY(ε-CAPROLACTONE)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of composition poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)/poly(ε- caprolactone)(PLGA/PCL)blending on the morphology,shrinkage and degradation behaviors of the electrospun fibers. With the increase of PLGA content in the composite fibers,the average diameter of the electrospun fibers increased from 1.35μm to 1.95μm.The serious shrinking of the electrospun PLGA meshes could be circumvented by adding 20% PCL in the fibers,resulting from the semi-crystalline nature of ...

Qualitative Distribution of Endogenous Cholesteryl Esters in Plasma of Humans and Three Rodent Species Using Stepwise UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS

Objective:Cholesteryl esters(CEs)are composed of various fatty acyl chains attached to the hydroxyl groups of cholesterol,and abnormalities in their metabolism are related to many diseases.This study aimed to develop an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole exactive mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-Exactive MS)method to identify the CEs in plasma.Methods:First,the MS fragmentation patterns were investigated using seven commercial CE standards.Then,the CEs in plasma were characterized through the accurate mass data of precursor ions and characteristic product ions.A strategy of step-by-step m/z scans in a narrow range was proposed to identify more trace CEs by the full-scan data-dependent MS/MS(ddMS2)mode.Results:A total of 50 CE species consisting of 55 regioisomers were identified in human plasma.Among them,two species were reported for the first time.Conclusion:This study is the most comprehensive identification of CE species in human plasma to date.These results will contribute to the in-depth profiling of CEs in human plasma and provide guidance for animal model selection when studying lipid-related diseases.

Characteristics of amino acid metabolism in colorectal cancer

In recent years,metabolomics research has become a hot spot in the screening and treatment of cancer.It is a popular technique for the quantitative characterization of small molecular compounds in biological cells,tissues,organs or organisms.Further study of the tumor revealed that amino acid changes may occur early in the tumor.The rapid growth and metabolism required for survival result in tumors exhibiting an increased demand for amino acids.An abundant supply of amino acids is important for cancer to maintain its proliferative driving force.Changes in amino acid metabolism can be used to screen malignant tumors and improve therapeutic outcomes.Therefore,it is particularly important to study the characteristics of amino acid metabolism in colorectal cancer.This article reviews several specific amino acid metabolism characteristics in colorectal cancer.

A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF CHAIN LENGTH ON THE HYDROLYSIS OF POLY(LACTIC ACID)

The intrinsic relationship between molecular chain length and the probability of chain reaction during poly（lactic acid） （PLA） hydrolysis was investigated by Monte Carlo simulation. The chain reaction rate was calculated by introducing a power function of different molecular chain lengths. The hydrolysis of both amorphous and extended-chain crystal PLA was selected as the model system. It is found that, the chain reaction probability was proportional to the chain length with a power of 0.4 for amorphous PLA and 0.7-1 for extended-chain crystal PLA, respectively. These results indicate that PLA with longer chain length usually exhibits larger reaction rate than that with shorter length. Comparing the hydrolysis of the two kinds of PLA, the competition between longer and shorter chains in the different condensed structures is different.