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Cadmium (Cd) is known as one of the most toxic elements among the heavy metals. This study proposes an electrochemical preconcentration method using the ion imprinted polymer nanoparticles modified carbon paste electrode (IIP-CPE) for the stripping voltammetry determination of Cd2+ in the environmental and biological samples. These IIP NPs were synthesised using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker, 2,2ʹ-azobisisobutyronitrile as the free radical initiator and 4ʹ-(4-vinylphenyl)-2,2ʹ:6ʹ,2ʺ-terpyridine as the Cd-binding ligand. The calibration plot was linear in the concentration range of 4-500 nM (R2 = 0.9936) with a sensitivity of 918 µA µM−1 cm−2. The LOD based on 3Sb/m (where m is the slope of the calibration curve and Sb is the standard deviation for five blank measurements) was found to be 1.94 nM. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for single-electrode repeatability and electrode-to-electrode reproducibility were 3.0% and 5.6% (n = 5), respectively. The accuracy of the current method was confirmed by the analysis of urine quality control material (QCM, SeronormTM Trace Elements Urine, REF NO 201205, Norway) and spiked blood, rice and water samples. Recoveries were found to be above 95.0% for all samples, which confirms the good performance of the proposed voltammetry method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology applications in nuclear medicine offer the promise of better diagnostic and therapeutic options. In recent years, increasing efforts have been focused on developing nanoconstructs that can be used as core platforms for attaching medical radionuclides with different strategies for the purposes of molecular imaging and targeted drug delivery. This review article presents an introduction to some commonly used nanomaterials with zero‐dimensional, one‐dimensional, two‐dimensional, and three‐dimensional structures, describes the various methods applied to radiolabeling of nanomaterials, and provides illustrative examples of application of the nanoscale radionuclides or radiolabeled nanocarriers in nuclear nanomedicine. Especially, the passive and active nanotargeting delivery of radionuclides with illustrating examples for tumor imaging and therapy was reviewed and summarized. The accurate and early diagnosis of cancer can lead to increased survival rates for different types of this disease. Although, the conventional single‐modality diagnostic methods such as positron emission tomography/single photon emission computed tomography or MRI used for such purposes are powerful means; most of these are limited by sensitivity or resolution. By integrating complementary signal reporters into a single nanoparticulate contrast agent, multimodal molecular imaging can be performed as scalable images with high sensitivity, resolution, and specificity. The advent of radiolabeled nanocarriers or radioisotope‐loaded nanomaterials with magnetic, plasmonic, or fluorescent properties has stimulated growing interest in the developing multimodality imaging probes. These new developments in nuclear nanomedicine are expected to introduce a paradigm shift in multimodal molecular imaging and thereby opening up an era of new diagnostic medical imaging agents. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 251–285, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic cancer is a major worldwide health problem. Little is known about the etiology of pancreatic cancer, which is an important cause of cancer mortality in developed countries. This study evaluates the importance of amounts of trace elements in pancreatic cancer etiology and diagnostics. Methods: Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to estimate zinc, selenium, copper, cadmium and lead concentrations in 80 patients with pancreatic cancer admitted to various hospitals in Tehran Province over an 18-month period and in 100 control subjects. Results: There were significantly lower levels (P<0.001) of zinc in patients' sera (63.12±26.45 μg/dl) compared with controls (107.05±30.23 μg/dl). The mean concentration of cadmium in patients (3.10±1.05 μg/l) was higher than in healthy subjects (1.52±0.88 μg/l; P<0.0001). In addition, there were significant variations in blood cadmium concentrations due to tobacco smoking in both groups (P<0.001). No significant differences in levels of selenium, copper and lead were observed between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: In this study and by analyzing data from recent major reported series, we have found that cadmium is a plausible pancreatic carcinogen. This study also suggests a significant relationship between zinc metabolism and pancreatic cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: In developing countries, nutritional deficiency of essential trace elements is a common health problem, particularly among pregnant women because of increased requirements of various nutrients. Accordingly, this study was initiated to compare trace elements status in women with or without pre-eclampsia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, serum trace elements including zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) were determined by using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in 60 patients and 60 healthy subjects. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the values of Cu between two groups (P > 0.05). A significant difference in Zn, Se, Ca and Mg levels were observed between patients with pre-eclampsia and control group (P < 0.001, P<0.01, P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively). Zn, Se, Ca and Mg levels were found to be 76.49 ± 17.62 μg/ dl, 8.82 ± 2.10 μg/ dl, 8.65 ± 2.14 mg/dl and 1.51 ± 0.34 mg/dl in Pre-eclamptic cases, and these values were found statistically lower compared to the controls (100.61 ± 20.12 μg/dl, 10.47 ± 2.78 μg/dl, 9.77 ± 3.02 mg/dl and 1.78 ± 0.27 mg/dl, respectively). While Cu levels were 118.28 ± 16.92 and 116.55 ± 15.23 μg/dl in the patients and the healthy subjects, respectively. In addition, no significant difference was found between two groups with respect to Hemoglobin Concentration (HbC) and Total White Blood Cell Count (TWBC) (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the levels of Zn, Se, Ca and Mg are significantly altered in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia. This research shows that these deficiencies can not due to hemodilution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]