Artificial plasma

After recovering from a battle with a life-threatening kidney disease, devotes himself to war research on rocket propellants and explosives, artificial plasma and artificial antibodies, and invents an oxygen-measuring device for use in submarines... 

Witte et al. [79] found that the corrosion rates of AZ91D and LAE442 measured in vivo were orders of magnitude lower than those measured in substitute ocean water prepared according to ASTM-Dl 141-98 [80]. Subsequently, in vitro testing has been carried out in a variety of solutions including (i) Hank s solution, (ii) simulated body fluid (SBF), (iii) artificial plasma (AP), (iv) phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and (v) minimum essential medium (MEM, Invitrogen). 

History. The term plasma was first used by Langmuir in 1928 to describe the main body of a gas discharge (1). Use of the term reflects the Greek origin of the word, to mold. Artificially induced glowing gas discharges mold themselves to the shape of their container and to items being processed within. 

This fusogenic activity of influenza hemagglutinin is frequently exploited in the laboratory. If, for example, the virus is bound to cells at a temperature too low for endocytosis and then the pH of the external medium is lowered, the hemagglutinin causes direct fusion of the viral envelope with the plasma membrane infection is achieved without endocytosis. Similarly, artificial vesicles with hemagglutinin in their membrane and other molecules in their lumen can be caused to fuse with cells by first allowing the vesicles to bind to the plasma membrane via the hemagglutinin and then lowering the pH of the medium. In this way the contents of the vesicles are delivered to the recipient cell s cytoplasm. 

Renal replacement by an artificial device providing intermittent clearance of plasma based on the physical principle of diffusion. 

The artificial separation between organic and inorganic mass-spectrometric methods is now narrowing, as shown by speciation studies (Section 8.8). Plasma-source MS (PS-MS), mainly as ICP-MS and MIP-MS, has been particularly effective when applied to speciation analysis. Direct speciation is also possible with electrospray MS (ESI-MS). 

Everson J, Patterson CC. 1980. "Ultra-clean" isotope dilution/mass spectrometric analyses for lead in human blood plasma indicate that most reported values are artificially high. Clin Chem 26 1603-1607. 

The paper [8] includes results of investigating electron mechanisms of the impact of active particles, radicals, hydrated electrons artificially generated by plasma on the behavior of cyanide complexes of zinc in water solutions. The above investigation was conducted using quantum chemistry methods. Quantum-chemical calculation of electron structure of the complexes Zn(CN)42 4EP-20H- with complete optimization of all geometric parameters [9] was performed. 

The powerful tool of molecular genetics allows the modification of each single amino add in the peptide chain of a protein, e.g. ddetion of side residues necessary for isoprenylation or palmitoylation1361 or introduction of additional charged amino acids for electrostatic interaction with the plasma membrane.1371 Even some artificial modifications can be introduced by means of recombinant enzymes as shown above. 

Fig. 16.2 Schematic representation of cellular and artificial membrane nanotubes. (A) Two cells are connected by a tunneling nanotube (arrowhead) containing a bundle of filamentous actin (red line). N (grey), nucleus M (purple), mitochondrium ER (green), endoplasmic reticulum G (blue), Golgi apparatus. (B) Lipid nanotube connecting two lipid vesicles formed by pulling a membrane tether. (C) Membrane tether pulled from the plasma membrane of a cell (see Color Plates)...

The decapeptide Hoe 140 (6.94), its D- and/or artificial residues being d-Arg, ((4/ )-hydroxy)Pro, (2-thienyl)Ala, D-[(l,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolin-3-yl)carbonyl] and i.-[(3aS, 7aS)-octahydroindol-2-yl carbonyl, is a potent and long-acting antagonist of bradykinin receptors [219][220]. This compound proved highly resistant to enzymatic degradation. It is not a substrate for kini-nase II and carboxypeptidases, and is only slowly degraded in human plasma. 

Fluid bags and containers for blood, plasma, intravenous solutions, urine incontinence... Blood vessels for artificial kidneys, heart and lung bypass sets. .. 

Carbon nanotubes inevitably contain defects, whose extent depends on the fabrication method but also on the CNT post-treatments. As already seen, oxidizing treatments, such as acid, plasma or electrochemical, can introduce defects that play an important role in the electrochemical performance of CNT electrodes. For instance, Collins and coworkers have published an interesting way to introduce very controlled functionalization points or defects on individual SWNTs by electrochemical means [96]. Other methodologies to introduce artificial defects comprise argon, hydrogen and electron irradiation. Under this context, a number of recent works have appeared with the goal of tailoring the electrochemical behavior of CNT surfaces by the controlled introduction of defects [97, 98]. 

An increase in the plasma concentration of amino acids, induced artificially by infusion, increases urea production not only in a normal but in a damaged liver. (Table 10.3). 

Therefore, by adding enough energy to any material, we can eventually dissociate it into atomic nuclei and electrons, hence turning it into a plasma. Our own Sun, unlike the Earth and the other planets, is in this plasma state, as are all stars. Although plasmas on Earth are artificial, the greater part of the visible Universe is made up of plasmas. 

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