Lanthanides-Based Nanoparticles Conjugated with Rose Bengal for FRET-Mediated X-Ray-Induced PDT.

In order to find a good candidate for Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-mediated X-ray-induced photodynamic therapy (X-PDT) for the treatment of cancer, lanthanide (Ln)-based AGuIX nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated with Rose Bengal (RB) as a photosensitizer (PS) were synthesized. X-PDT overcomes the problem of the poor penetration of visible light into tissues, which limits the efficacy of PDT in the treatment of deep-seated tumors. It is essential to optimize FRET efficiency by maximizing the overlap integral between donor emission and acceptor absorption and lengthening the duration of the donor emission.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Characterization of Fluorescent Ligands Targeting the Angiotensin II Receptors Derived from Agonists, β-Arrestin-Biased Agonists, and Antagonists.

Angiotensin II (AngII) regulates cerebral circulation and binds with a similar affinity to AT and AT receptors. Biased AT agonists, such as TRV027, which are able to selectively activate β-arrestin while blocking the G pathway, appear promising as new therapeutics. New pharmacological tools are needed to further explore the impact of biased AT agonists on cells or tissues, such as the cerebral vessels.

New photodynamic molecular beacons (PMB) as potential cancer-targeted agents in PDT.

Further improvements in Photodynamic therapy (PDT) necessitate that the dye targets more selectively tumour tissues or neovascularization than healthy cells. Different enzymes such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are overexpressed in tumour areas. Among these MMPs, gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and its activator MMP-14 are known to play a key role in tumour angiogenesis and the growth of many cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive malignant tumour of the brain.

Accelerated solvent extraction of carotenoids from: Tunisian Kaki (Diospyros kaki L.), peach (Prunus persica L.) and apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.).

Extraction of carotenoids from biological matrices and quantifications remains a difficult task. Accelerated solvent extraction was used as an efficient extraction process for carotenoids extraction from three fruits cultivated in Tunisia: kaki (Diospyros kaki L.), peach (Prunus persica L.