Biomedical subjects
Z Cai
Publications and source records attributed to Z Cai.
Cytological investigation of CSF in leptospiral cerebral arteritis.
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Microencapsulated hepatocytes: an in vitro and in vivo study.
Using a modified alginate-polylysine membrane, we have successfully encapsulated rat hepatocytes with little loss of viability. Urea and albumin release from encapsulated liver cells was comparable to that from non-encapsulated cells during the first 4 days in culture. Histological studies also showed that more than 50% of the encapsulated hepatocytes remained viable 35 days after implantation in the peritoneal cavity of both normal rats and rats with galactosamine induced fulminant hepatic failure. Transplantation of microencapsulated hepatocytes provides a potential clinical treatment for liver failure.
[Cerebral arteritis due to leptospirosis].
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Moyamoya disease caused by leptospiral cerebral arteritis.
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Quantitative determination of salidroside and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait by high performance liquid chromatography.
An accurate RP-HPLC method for the quantitative determination of two water-soluble biologically active compounds, salidroside (p-hydroxyphenethyl-beta-D-glucoside) and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait (a crude drug in Chinese traditional medicine) was developed. The reversed-phase column was Nova-Pak C18, saturated with water before the injection of the samples and eluted with a mobile phase of methanol:water (4:6, v/v). The detection wavelength was 230 nm. The recoveries of the two compounds were 96.1 and 97.0%, respectively. The contents of salidroside and specnuezhenide in the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum Ait and two traditional Chinese patent medicines in which this crude drug was an important component, Erzhi Pills and Anshenbuxin Pills, were determined.
Optimization of conditions for bacteriocin extraction in PEG/salt aqueous two-phase systems using statistical experimental designs.
The bacteriocin nisin was extracted in PEG/salt aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) using the property that the systems can extract hydrophobic proteins. The concentrations of the phase-forming components, PEG 4000 and Na(2)SO(4), were optimized for nisin recovery by means of statistical experimental designs, and it was found that they strongly influenced nisin recovery. The optimal composition of ATPS was found to be 15.99% (w/w) PEG 4000 and 15.85% (w/w) Na(2)SO(4) (pH 2), and the optimal ATPS allowed an 11.60% increase of nisin recovery compared to the standard method of nisin assay.
Realities of high-throughput liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry purification of large combinatorial libraries: a report on overall sample throughput using parallel purification.
We report on the development of a validated, streamlined high-throughput process for the purification of parallel-synthesis-derived combinatorial libraries. The steps involved in this library purification process include dissolution of dry films of crude synthetic material, dual-column LC/MS purification, dual-column postpurification analysis, quantitation, reformatting, and submission of pure compounds for registration. Although the purification and postpurification analysis times decreased essentially linearly as a function of the number of HPLC columns employed, it was not possible to decrease the total purification process time linearly as a function of the number of columns employed in the system. This was due primarily to the fact that numerous steps in the total purification process are independent of sample analysis and purification (e.g., evaporation, reconstitution, and reformatting, etc.). Additionally, experiments were also performed to assess whether separate gradient pumps were necessary for each channel of this two-channel LC/MS or if acceptable results could be reliably obtained by splitting the flow from one set of gradient pumps between two HPLC columns. On the basis of the parallel, two-column LC/MS system employed in this work, throughput estimates were extrapolated to more massively parallel systems (e.g., four-channel LC/MS).
Direct block of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator Cl(-) channel by niflumic acid.
Niflumic acid is widely used to inhibit Ca(2+) -activated Cl(-) channels. However, the chemical structure of niflumic acid resembles that of diphenylamine-2-carboxylate, a drug that inhibits the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl(-) channel. To investigate how niflumic acid inhibits CFTR Cl(-) channel, we studied recombinant wild-type human CFTR in excised inside-out membrane patches. When added to the intracellular solution, niflumic acid caused a concentration- and voltage-dependent decrease of CFTR Cl(-) current with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (K(i)) of 253 microM and Hill co-efficient of approximately 1, at -50 mV. Niflumic acid inhibition of single CFTR Cl(-) channels was characterized by a very fast, flickery block that decreased dramatically current amplitude without altering open-probability. Consistent with these data, spectral analysis of CFTR Cl(-) currents suggested that channel block by niflumic acid was described by the closed <--> open <--> blocked kinetic scheme with blocker on rate (k(on)) = 13.9 x 10(6) M(-1)s(-1), off rate (k(off))=3348 s(-1) and dissociation constant (K(d)) = 241 microM, at -50 mV. Based on these data, we tested the effects of niflumic acid on transepithelial Cl(-) secretion and cyst growth using type I MDCK epithelial cells. Niflumic acid (200 microM) inhibited cAMP-stimulated, bumetanide-sensitive short-circuit current by 55%. Moreover, the drug potently retarded cyst growth. We conclude that niflumic acid is an open-channel blocker of CFTR that inhibits Cl(-) permeation by plugging the channel pore. It or related agents might be of value in the development of new therapies for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
Microencapsulated hepatocytes as a bioartificial liver.
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New high-palladium casting alloys: Part 2. Effects of heat treatment and burnout temperature.
Castings simulating a maxillary central incisor coping were fabricated from five representative high-palladium alloys, using burnout temperatures of 1,400 degrees F and 1,500 degrees F, with a carbon-free phosphate-bonded investment. Three castings of each alloy were individually prepared at each burnout temperature. Each casting was sectioned into two specimens, and one specimen was subjected to simulated porcelain firing heat treatment. Polished and etched specimens in as-cast and heat-treated conditions were examined with optical and scanning electron microscopes. Mean values of Vickers hardness (1-kg load) were determined for each alloy and condition. It was observed that the simulated porcelain firing cycles caused major changes in as-cast bulk microstructures for the three first-generation alloys, while only subtle alterations were observed for the two second-generation alloys. In addition, complex regions associated with oxidation processes were found near the surfaces of all the heat-treated alloys. While the as-cast microstructure and the hardness of each alloy did not vary appreciably for the two burnout temperatures, the incidence of hot tearing in one first-generation alloy was substantially reduced at the lower burnout temperature. Statistically significant decreases in hardness generally occurred in the high-palladium alloys after the simulated porcelain firing cycles, but the relatively small changes (usually 10% or less) should not have any clinical significance. Other clinically relevant applications are also discussed.
New high-palladium casting alloys: studies of the interface with porcelain.
This investigation studied the metal ceramic interface for two representative high-palladium alloys each of the Pd-Cu-Ga and Pd-Ga systems, using scanning electron microscopy and x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. The Pd-Cu-Ga alloys produced complex subsurface oxidation regions with thickness ranging from 15 to 20 microns for one alloy and 5 to 10 microns for the other alloy. Ga, In, and Sn accumulated at the interfaces, and Ga-rich deposits were found in the subsurface scale. One Pd-Ga alloy presented a surface oxidation region which dissolved in the ceramic, producing "islands" rich in Pd and Ga with a width that ranged from 1 to 2 microns. These islands were separated from the alloy by a band rich in Ga and Si which was 1 to 2.5 microns thick. While the other Pd-Ga alloy presented similar interfacial microstructures, the "islands" formed for this alloy were relatively sparse. The Pd-Cu-Ga alloys had a more favorable interface for metal ceramic bonding, which agrees with previous characterization of bond failures between these alloys and dental porcelain.