Suchergebnisse

AbstractThrough researching and comparing the transparency levels of disaster relief organizations involved in the Wenchuan Earthquake, we discovered that the overall transparency levels of foundations were not very high. Moreover, the levels of transparency we found did not match the results of the A-level evaluations. Conversely, the group of organizations without A-level ratings had a higher transparency level because it included many organizations operating with bottom-up socialized mechanisms. This result means that, from society's perspective, having a small number of large, government-designated, legally registered organizations authorized to accept donations is not the most ideal organizational form.

Xiaolong Tang,1,2,* He Zhu,3,* Ledong Sun,4,* Wei Hou,2 Shuyu Cai,1 Rongbo Zhang,1 Feng Liu5 1Stem Cell Engineering Research Center, School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, People's Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Virology, Life Sciences College, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China; 3Institute of Skin Damage and Repair, General Hospital of Beijing Military Command, Beijing, People's Republic of China; 4Department of Dermatology, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China; 5Department of Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders of the Ministry of Education, Chongqing, People's Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Amphotericin B (AMB) is a polyene antibiotic with broad spectrum antifungal activity, but its clinical toxicities and poor solubility limit the wide application of AMB in clinical practice. Recently, new drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) – diblock copolymer D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate-b-poly(ε-caprolactone-ran-glycolide) (PLGA-TPGS) – have received special attention for their reduced toxicity, and increased effectiveness of drug has also been reported. This study aimed to develop AMB-loaded PLGA-TPGS nanoparticles (AMB-NPs) and evaluate their antifungal effects in vitro and in vivo.Methods: AMB-NPs were prepared with a modified nanoprecipitation method and then characterized in terms of physical characteristics, in vitro drug release, stability, drug-encapsulation efficiency, and toxicity. Finally, the antifungal activity of AMB-NPs was investigated in vitro and in vivo.Results: AMB-NPs were stable and spherical, with an average size of around 110 nm; the entrapment efficacy was closed to 85%, and their release exhibited a typically biphasic pattern. The actual minimum inhibitory concentration of AMB-NPs against Candida albicans was significantly lower than that of free AMB, and AMB-NPs were less toxic on blood cells. In vivo experiments indicated that AMB-NPs achieved significantly better and prolonged antifungal effects when compared with free AMB.Conclusion: The AMB-PLGA-TPGS NP system significantly improves the AMB bioavailability by improving its antifungal activities and reducing its toxicity, and thus, these NPs may become a good drug carrier for antifungal treatment. Keywords: drug delivery, anti-infection, nanocarrier, C. albicans, amphotericin B