Radiolabeling,Preparation, and Bioevaluation of 99mTc-Azathioprine as a Potential Targeting Agent for Solid Tumor Imaging

Radiochemistry - Azathioprine, an antitumor agent, was labeled with 99mTc using stannous chloride dihydrate as a reducing agent. Factors such as the amounts of the reducing agent and substrate, pH,...     

Electrical and magnetic properties of lithium borate glass containing iron

Journal of Materials Science Letters -     

Effect of the addition of Fe2O3 and heat treatment duration on the magnetic susceptibility of V2O5-P2O5-B2O3 glass system

The effect of the addition of Fe₂O₃ and heat treatment duration on the magnetic susceptibility of vanadium borophosphate glass were studied. The magnetic susceptibility of glass samples was found to increase with increasing Fe₂O₃ content, which may be explained by the formation of the FeO₆ group and the change of Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ which has higher paramagnetic properties. No detectable changes in the magnetic susceptibility with heat treatment for the samples containing 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0 mol% Fe₂O₃ was observed. The magnetic susceptibility for the heat treated samples containing 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ decreases sharply with increasing duration of heat treatment up to 6 h and then remains almost constant. The sharp decrease in magnetic susceptibility of 2.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ is attributed to the increase in the number of ferrous ions. The sharp decrease for samples containing 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃ is attributed to the increase in the number of Fe³⁺ in tetrahedral co-ordination. The rate of crystallization owing to the heat treatment was calculated and was found to increase with increasing iron oxide content. The geometry of crystallization was found to be in three-, two-and one-dimension(s) for samples containing 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mol% Fe₂O₃, respectively.     

Preparation and biological evaluation of <Superscript>99<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis></Superscript>Tc-timonacic acid as a new complex for hepatobiliary imaging

Timonacic acid (TCA) was successfully labeled with ^99m Tc. The influence exerted on the reaction by the substrate and reducing agent concentrations, pH of the reaction mixture, and reaction time was examined, and in vitro stability of ^99m Tc-TCA was evaluated. The maximum labeling yield was 98.5 ± 0.6%. The complex was stable throughout the working period (6 h). A study of in-vivo biodistribution in mice showed that the maximum uptake of ^99m Tc-TCA in the liver was 22.3 ± 0.3% of the injected activity per gram of the tissue or organ (% ID/g) at 30 min post injection. The clearance from the mice appeared to proceed via the circulation mainly through the kidneys and urine (approximately 56% of the injected dose at 1 h after injection). The liver uptake of ^99m Tc-TCA is higher than that of ^99m Tc-UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid); therefore, ^99m Tc-TCA shows more promise for liver SPECT.     

Structural,Microstructure, Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Porous Zr4+-Cordierite Ceramic Composites

Zirconium-cordierite ceramic composites have been synthesized by a co-precipitation method using MgCl₂·6H₂O, NaAlO₂, Na₂SiO₃·5H₂O, and ZrOCl₂·8H₂O as starting materials. XRD, FT-IR, and SEM techniques were employed to study the effect of zirconium on the crystal structure and microstructure of the samples. XRD results revealed that spinel MgAl₂O₄ and t-ZrO₂ phases were predominant in the samples with low Zr⁴⁺ content (10 wt.%), whereas zircon ZrSiO₄ was predominant with high Zr⁴⁺ content (≥15 wt.%). The densification behavior was improved from 30.4 to 44.6% of the theoretical density (2.6 g/cm³) at 15 wt.% of Zr⁴⁺. However, microhardness of the sintered samples was enhanced from 7.1 to 7.5 GPa with increasing the Zr⁴⁺ dose from 0 to 25 wt.%. On the other hand, the gradual increase in Zr⁴⁺ content from 0 to 25 wt.% led to suppression in the electrical resistivity (ρ) from 16.6 to 2.8 × 10⁹ Ω/cm, respectively. In addition, the dielectric permittivity (ε) of the pure cordierite was decreased with Zr⁴⁺ ion addition. The maximum dielectric permittivity (ε) at low frequencies (10 MHz) was 18.7 at 10 wt.% Zr⁴⁺ content, whereas at high frequencies (1 GHz) it was 38.8 at 15 wt.% Zr⁴⁺ content.     

The anodic dissolution of Fe and C-steel in acidic sulphate solution

The influences of pH, potential and C content on the steady-state dissolution of Fe have been examined in H₂-saturated sulphate solutions. The Tafel slope, amounting to 60 mV/decade, is independent of pH or C content. The reaction shows a first-order dependence on pH.     

Radiodiagnosis of peptic ulcer with technetium-99m-pantoprazole

Pantoprazole, antiulcer drug, was labeled with ^99m Tc to obtain an agent for ulcer imaging. The radiochemical yield of ^99m Tc-Pantoprazole reaches approximately 96.5%. The optimum conditions are as follows: pH 10, 75 μg of tin chloride, 30 min, and 2 mg of the substrate. ^99m Tc-Pantoprazole was stable for 3 h. Intravenous biodistribution studies of ^99m Tc-Pantoprazole revealed high concentration in the stomach ulcer, reaching about 27.2% of the total injected dose at 30 min post injection. This concentration of ^99m Tc-Pantoprazole in stomach ulcer makes this agent promising for stomach ulcer imaging.     

In Pursuit of Excellence and Gender Equality: Engineering Education at Kuwait University

The multi‐dimensional effort in the pursuit of excellence in engineering education at Kuwait University is described. The engineering program curricula have continuously been modified to provide engineering students with an intellectual foundation that is broad, well‐rounded, and multi‐disciplinary. He pursuit of excellence in engineering education has earned the College ABET's “substantial equivalency” rating for six of its programs. Women constitute more than forty percent of the incoming engineering student body in recent years. A comprehensive questionnaire survey of the alumni of the College of Engineering was performed. Nearly all of engineering women alumnae are presently employed and a majority feel that the education and training, which they received from the engineering programs, were excellent and responsive to the needs of their jobs. A clear majority of women alumnae also feel equal (or even superior), to their male counterparts with regard to job‐related factors. The feeling of equality is positively and significantly correlated with GPA, field of specialization, and years of experience.