Suppression of transmembrane sodium currents on the freshly isolated hippocampal neuron cell with continuous infrared light

Physiotherapeutic effects of infrared lasers have been proved in clinic.These infrared-based regulations of the bioelectrical activities can roughly be classied into enhancement and suppression of action potential(AP),which are described by sodium(Na)and potassium(K)transmembrane current equations,named as Hodgkin and Huxley(HH)-model.The enhancement effect is able to evoke or strengthen the AP when infrared light is applied.Its corresponding mechanism is commonly ascribed to the changes of the cell membrane capacitance,which is transiently increased in response to the infrared radiation.The distinctive feature of the suppression effect is to inhibit or reduce the AP by the designed protocols of infrared radiation.However,its mechanism presents more complexity than that in enhancement cases.HH-model describes how the Na current determines the initial phase of AP.So,the enhancement and suppression of AP can be also ascribed to the regulations of the corresponding Na currents.Here,a continuous infrared light at the wavelength of 980 nm(CIS-980)was employed to stimulate a freshly isolated hippocampal neuron in vitro and a suppression effect on the Na currents of the neuron cell was observed.Both Na and K currents,which are named as whole cell currents,were simultaneously recorded with the cell membrane capacitance current by using a patch clamp combined with infrared irradiation.The results demonstrated that the CIS-980 was able to reversibly increase the capacitance currents,completely suppressed Na currents,but little changed K currents,which forms the steady outward whole cell currents and plays a major role on the AP repolarization.A conrmation experiment was designed and carried out by synchronizing tens of milliseconds of infrared stimulation on the same kinds of hippocampal neuron cells.After the blocked K channel,a reduction of Na current amplitude was still recorded.This proved that infrared suppression of Na current was irrelevant to K channel.A membrane capacitance mediation process was preliminarily proposed to explain the Na channel suppression process.

Desalination Alternative Technology in Conjunction with Membrane Capacitive Deionization (MCDI): A Literature Review Article

Water and energy shortages came due to rapid population growth, living standards and rapid development in the agriculture and industrial sectors. Desalination tends to be one of the most promising water solutions;however, it is a process of intense energy. Membrane Capacitive Deionization (MCDI) has received considerable interest as a promising desalination technology, and MCDI research has increased significantly over the last 10 years. In addition, there are no guidelines for the design of Capacitive Deionization (CDI) implementation strategies for individual applications. This study, therefore;provides an alternative of CDI’s recent application developments, with emphasis placed on hybrid systems to address the technological needs of different relevant fields. The MCDI’s energy consumption is compared with the reverse osmosis literature data based on experimental data from laboratory-scale system. The study demonstrates that MCDI technology is a promising technology in the next few years with an extreme competition in water recovery, energy consumption and salt removal for reverse osmosis.

Penicillin fermentation residue biochar as a high-performance electrode for membrane capacitive deionization

Membrane capacitive deionization(MCDI)is an efficient desalination technology for brine.Penicillin fermentation residue biochar(PFRB)possesses a hierarchical porous and O/N-doped structure which could serve as a high-capacity desalination electrode in the MCDI system.Under optimal conditions(electrode weight,voltage,and concentration)and a carbonization temperature of 700℃,the maximum salt adsorption capacity of the electrode can reach 26.4 mg/g,which is higher than that of most carbon electrodes.Furthermore,the electrochemical properties of the PFRB electrode were characterized through cyclic voltammetry(CV)and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy(EIS)with a maximum specific capacitance of 212.18 F/g.Finally,biotoxicity tests have showed that PFRB was non-biotoxin against luminescent bacteria and the MCDI system with the PFRB electrode remained stable even after 27 adsorption–desorption cycles.This study provides a novel way to recycle penicillin residue and an electrode that can achieve excellent desalination.

Detection of the apoptosis of Jurkat cell using an electrorotation chip

The apoptosis of cells is one of the fields that attract increasing attention in biology today.Usually,the cells are treated with chemicals when detecting apoptosis.It is highly desired to detect apoptosis in a real-time basis.Apoptosis of Jurkat cells was studied using a real-time electrorotation chip.This chip allows the detection of the cell membrane capacitance changes during the course of apoptosis and therefore facilitates the analysis of apoptosis in a real-time basis without involving any chemical treatment.