Biomedical subjects

Miroslav Slouf

Publications and source records attributed to Miroslav Slouf.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Functional polymer hydrogels for embryonic stem cell support.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are pluripotent cells with the ability to differentiate among all embryonic and adult cell lineages. Derivation of human ES cells opened up the way for treatment of many serious disorders by stem cell-based transplantation therapy. One of the most exciting challenges in development of transplantation therapies is to repair the damaged part of the organ or tissue by transplantation of undifferentiated ES cells or their differentiated derivatives within three-dimensional polymer scaffold. This method allows both renewal of structure and restoration of function of the organ. To address this issue, new polymer hydrogels were synthesized and tested. Cationic hydrogel slabs were synthesized by bulk radical copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) with ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) or 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) with N,N'-divinylethyleneurea (DVEU) or EDMA in the presence of saccharose or NaCl as a porogen. Swelling studies of the synthesized copolymers showed a high water content in the swollen state. Biocompatibility was studied with the use of feeder-independent mouse ES cell line D3. Cells grown either on the surface or inside synthesized polymer slabs suggest that the tested slabs are not toxic. The ability of ES cells to proliferate was only partially limited in PHEMA slabs crosslinked with EDMA compared with standard culture conditions. When cultured for a limited period of time, ES cells retained their undifferentiated state independently of properties of the hydrogel slabs, presence or absence of surface charges, type of crosslinking agent and matrix (PHEMA or PVP). Notably, prolonged culture in superporous hydrogel slabs initiated ES cell differentiation. Compared with unmodified PHEMA, the number of proliferating ES cells was still lower in the presence of cationic polymers.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Macroporous hydrogels based on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. Part 5: hydrolytically degradable materials.

Macroporous hydrogels based on 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate and N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide, methacrylic acid and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride crosslinked with N,O-dimethacryloylhydroxylamine were prepared. Hydrogels were degraded in a buffer of pH 7.4. Completely water-soluble polymers were obtained over time periods ranging from 2 to 40 days. The process of degradation was followed gravimetrically and by optical and electron microscopy. In vivo biological tests with hydrogels based on copolymers of 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate/N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide were performed.

Absorbable Implants↗

PubMed2006

Probing strong optical fields in compact aggregates of silver nanoparticles by SERRS of protoporphyrin IX.

TEM images and measurements of SERRS (surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering) spectra as a function of the porphyrin concentrations in systems with unmodified and chloride-modified Ag nanoparticles and protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) are reported. TEM images have shown formation of compact aggregates in systems with chloride modified Ag nanoparticles, as opposed to systems with the unmodified particles constituted by isolated particles. SERRS spectra of PPIX as a function of PPIX concentration were measured and subjected to factor analysis. Two spectral components were identified and tentatively attributed to unperturbed PPIX and to Ag+ -PPIX surface species. Concentration value of the SERRS spectral detection limit of the latter species was determined to be nearly three orders of magnitude lower in the system with the compact aggregates than in the system with separated nanoparticles and achieves the value of 1 x 10(-10) M in a macrosampling Raman experiment. TEM images and SERRS-micro-Raman spectra of single compact aggregates of chloride-modified Ag nanoparticles incorporating PPIX molecules were acquired from a sample prepared by attachment of the aggregates to amine groups of derivatized, SiOx/formvar coated copper grids for TEM. The SERRS signal has shown large temporal fluctuations as well as variations from one aggregate to another. Within the signal fluctuations, a SERRS spectrum showing the characteristic bands of both SERRS spectral forms of PPIX and originating most probably from a few PPIX molecules located in hot spots in the interstices between the Ag nanoparticles, was obtained.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Electronic structure and bonding in hydroxocobalamin.

The electronic structure of hydroxocobalamin (OHCbl) has been calculated by a density functional method, using the orthogonalized linear combination of the atomic orbitals method (OLCAO). The X-ray crystal structure has been determined from synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and the geometry determined was used in the calculations. Comparison with the recently reported electronic structures of cyanocobalamin (CNCbl), methylcobalamin (MeCbl) and adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) shows that Mulliken charges (Q*) and bond orders (BO) vary only on the axial fragment.

Cobamides↗

PubMed2004

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based slabs as a mouse embryonic stem cell support.

Poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) crosslinked with ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) or N,O-dimethacryloylhydroxylamine (DMHA) was obtained in the form of slabs by bulk radical polymerization. Two porosity-inducing methods were investigated, phase separation using a low-molecular-weight porogen and a salt-leaching technique using NaCl and saccharose. Compared with the phase separation, the salt-leaching created open porous structures with voids of the size and shape of crystallites. To address its potentials in the context of stem cell therapies, undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells D3 (ES D3 cells) were seeded on the slabs and analyzed for the ability to grow on different types of non-degradable and/or degradable porous PHEMA hydrogels. The cells were able to proliferate only on PHEMA crosslinked with EDMA or 2 wt% DMHA. In order to assess the effect of gelatin, which is routinely used for ES cell cultures, PHEMA slabs were soaked in gelatin solutions and compared the number of cells on gelatin-treated and untreated slabs 4 days after cell seeding. Surprisingly, the number of cells was only slightly higher on gelatin-treated slabs.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Characterization and surface-enhanced Raman spectral probing of silver hydrosols prepared by two-wavelength laser ablation and fragmentation.

A four step Ag foil laser ablation-Ag nanoparticle fragmentation procedure in ultrapure water was carried out both under argon and in air. Pulses of a high power Nd/YAG laser were used for laser ablation (1064 nm) and for the three step Ag hydrosol treatment in the absence of Ag foil in the sequence 1064-532-1064 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and surface plasmon (SP) extinction spectra provide evidence of Ag nanoparticle fragmentation in the second and third step of the procedure carried out under argon. While polydispersity of Ag hydrosol increases in the second step, both the polydispersity and the mean size of the nanoparticles are reduced in the third step. Qualitative and quantitative surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)/surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS) spectral probing of systems with Ag hydrosols and the selected adsorbates at 514.5 nm excitation shows that Ag hydrosols obtained in the second step of the preparation procedure carried out in air are the most suitable substrates for SERS/SERRS experiments performed at this excitation wavelength.

Silver Compounds↗

PubMed2002

Charge density study of hydrogen [(2,4-diaminopyrimidin-1-io)methyl]phosphonate monohydrate.

The crystal structure and charge density of hydrogen (2,4-diaminopyrimidin-1-io)methyl]phosphonate monohydrate, C(5)H(9)N(4)O(3)P x H(2)O, have been determined by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Diffraction data were collected at 105 K with Mo K alpha radiation to a resolution of sin theta/lambda = 1.08 A(-1). A four-circle diffractometer equipped with a CCD area detector was used to collect 50 161 reflections over 3 d. 6082 unique reflections with I > 3 sigma(I) were used in the multipole model to map the deformation electron density and gave the final statistical factors R(F) = 0.0329, wR(F) = 0.0235 and g.o.f. = 1.37. Structure determination revealed that two O atoms in the crystal structure of the title compound act as hydrogen-bond acceptors for more than one hydrogen bond. Examination of deformation electron density maps showed preferential polarization of the lone-pair electron density of the two O atoms into the shortest hydrogen bonds.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Solution and Solid State Structure of a Canted, Side-to-Face, Bis(porphyrin) Adduct.

The coordination chemistry of meso-pyridyl/phenyl porphyrins (PyPs) toward metallo-porphyrins with substitutionally labile axial ligands has been exploited for the self-assembling of ordered arrays of pigments. PyPs are particularly versatile bulding blocks: the peripheral N atom can be either in the 4'-position (4'PyPs) or in the 3'-position (3'PyPs), and they can provide connections to as many as four metal centers by coordination of the pyridyl groups. While 4'PyPs lead to arrays of perpendicularly linked, side-to-face, porphyrins, 3'PyPs yield the corresponding canted analogues. Even though several perpendicular arrays have been described, the examples of canted adducts are few and all very recent. We report here a detailed X-ray structure of the new adduct of two axially ligated canted porphyrins [Ru(TPP)(CO)(3'MPyP)] (1) (TPP = tetraphenylporphyrin, 3'MPyP = 5-(3'-pyridyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin) as well as its thorough spectroscopic characterization in solution, including the dynamic (1)H NMR investigation of the NH tautomeric exchange process. 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/a, Z = 4, with a = 13.508(1) Å, b = 29.972(1) Å, c = 19.084(1) Å, and beta = 96.03(1) degrees. The structural and spectroscopic data of 1 assume a strategic importance among axially ligated pyridylporphyrin systems, since they can be fruitfully compared to those of perpendicular analogues. The importance of a comparative investigation of the canted and perpendicular arrays of porphyrins is readily understood: it might help understanding how relevant physicochemical properties, such as photoinduced long-range electron or energy transfer processes, depend on the mutual orientation of the pigments in the 3-dimensional architecture while the other parameters in the supramolecular array (number of macrocycles, distance between them) are maintained substantially unchanged.

Journal Article↗