Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is widely used as a gold standard in bioconjugation and nanomedicine to prolong blood circulation time and improve drug efficacy. The conjugation of PEG to proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides (DNA, small interfering RNA (siRNA), microRNA (miRNA)) and nanoparticles is a well-established technique known as PEGylation, with PEGylated products have been using in clinics for the last few decades. However, it is increasingly recognized that treating patients with PEGylated drugs can lead to the formation of antibodies that specifically recognize and bind to PEG (i.e., anti-PEG antibodies). Anti-PEG antibodies are also found in patients who have never been treated with PEGylated drugs but have consumed products containing PEG. Consequently, treating patients who have acquired anti-PEG antibodies with PEGylated drugs results in accelerated blood clearance, low drug efficacy, hypersensitivity, and, in some cases, life-threatening side effects. In this succinct review, we collate recent literature to draw the attention of polymer chemists to the issue of PEG immunogenicity in drug delivery and bioconjugation, thereby highlighting the importance of developing alternative polymers to replace PEG. Several promising yet imperfect alternatives to PEG are also discussed. To achieve asatisfactory alternative, further joint efforts of polymer chemists and scientists in related fields are urgently needed to design, synthesize and evaluate new alternatives to PEG.
Phytoconstituents presenting in herbal plant broths are the biocompatible, regenerative, and cost-effective sources that can be utilized for green synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Different plant extracts can form nanoparticles with specific sizes, shapes, and properties. In the study, we prepared silver nanoparticles (P.uri.AgNPs, P.zey.AgNPs, and S.dul.AgNPs) based on three kinds of leaf extracts (Phyllanthus urinaria, Pouzolzia zeylanica, and Scoparia dulcis, respectively) and demonstrated the antifungal capacity. The silver nanoparticles were simply formed by adding silver nitrate to leaf extracts without using any reducing agents or stabilizers. Formation and physicochemical properties of these silver nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. P.uri.AgNPs were 28.3 nm and spherical. P.zey.AgNPs were 26.7 nm with hexagon or triangle morphologies. Spherical S.dul.AgNPs were formed and they were relatively smaller than others. P.uri.AgNPs, P.zey.AgNPs and S.dul.AgNPs exhibited the antifungal ability effective against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, and Fusarium oxysporum, demonstrating their potentials as fungicides in the biomedical and agricultural applications.
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is an involuntary contraction of muscles on one side of the face. It is caused by compression of the facial nerve by blood vessels. Microvascular decompression (MVD) is an effective treatment for HFS. However, complications such as hearing loss and dizziness may occur due to nerve deficits during surgery. To prevent this, neural monitoring is performed with brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs). In most hospitals, the presence or absence of BAEPs V waveform is used as an indicator for monitoring. Also, it tends to be intensively implemented only during the main procedure. In this report, we compare three cases in which there were differences in postoperative hearing complications depending on the presence of wave I. This suggests the importance of attention on wave I of BAEPs monitoring during MVD surgery and the need for acquiring wave I data until closing time as well during the main procedure.
Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (이하 CADASIL)은 19번 염색체의
NOTCH3
gene의 돌연변이에 의해 발생하는 것으로 알려진 유전성 뇌혈관 질환이다. 제주도는 전 세계적으로 CADASIL의 유병률이 높은 지역으로 알려져 있으나 제주 CADASIL에 대한 통합적인 신경영상 보고는 아직까지 없었다. CADASIL에서 보이는 신경영상의 특징에 대해서는 대부분 서양인 환자를 대상으로 보고되어 왔으며, 한국인의 임상양상과 신경영상의 특징에 대한 보고 역시 드물다. 본 임상화보에서는 제주도 CADASIL 코호트에서 수집한 데이터와 문헌을 바탕으로 한국인의 CADASIL 신경영상의 특성에 대해 고찰해 보고하고자 한다.
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