Sharif Digital Repository

In the present paper, the use of a novel carbon paste electrode modified by N,N'(2,3-dihydroxybenzylidene)-1,4-phenylenediamine (DHBPD) and TiO2 nanoparticles prepared by a simple and rapid method for the determination of dopamine (DA) was described. In the first part of the work, cyclic voltammetry was used to investigate the redox properties of this modified electrode at various solution pH values and at various scan rates. A linear segment was found with slope value of about 48 mV/pH in the pH range 2.0 -12.0. The apparent charge transfer rate constant (ks) and transfer coefficient (α) for electron transfer between DHBPD and TiO2 nanoparticles-carbon paste electrode were calculated. In... 

Ultrathin carbon nanoparticle-poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) films (CNP-PDDAC films) are formed on tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) electrodes in a layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition process employing 9-18 nm diameter carbon particles. Transparent and strongly adhering films of high electrical conductivity are formed and characterized in terms of their electrochemical reactivity. When immersed in aqueous 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 7, each layer of CNP-PDDAC (of ca. 5-6 nm average thickness) is adding an interfacial capacitance of ca. 10 μF cm-2. Absorption into the CNP-PDDAC nanocomposite film is dominated by the sites in the PDDAC cationomer and therefore anionic molecules such as... 

The solution equilibria of magnesium (II) complex formed with bidentate ligand of dopamine in acidic media (pH=∼4-∼6) have been studied in cosolvent systems at 15, 25, 35 ± 0.1° C and 1=0.2 mol.dm-3 sodium chloride, using phosphate buffer, with spectrophotometric methods. Evidence for the 2:1 complex was not observed for magnesium. The stability constant of the complex was determined KMg(HL)+ = ∼9 and the resulting free-energy changes obtained. The protonation constant of dopamine was determined under the above conditions. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of solvent on protonation and complexation  

Memory and motor deficits are commonly identified in Parkinson's disease (PD). 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) is transformed to MPP+ via monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), which causes oxidative stress and destroys dopaminergic (DA) neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and is widely used to create animal models of PD. However, to-date, a comprehensive analysis of the MPTP effects on various aspects of PD does not exist. Here, we provide a systematic review and meta-analysis on the MPTP effects on memory and motor functions by analyzing 51 studies on more than one thousand animals mainly including rats and mice. The results showed that in addition to motor functions... 

Instrumental responses are hypothesized to be of two kinds: habitual and goal-directed, mediated by the sensorimotor and the associative cortico-basal ganglia circuits, respectively. The existence of the two heterogeneous associative learning mechanisms can be hypothesized to arise from the comparative advantages that they have at different stages of learning. In this paper, we assume that the goal-directed system is behaviourally flexible, but slow in choice selection. The habitual system, in contrast, is fast in responding, but inflexible in adapting its behavioural strategy to new conditions. Based on these assumptions and using the computational theory of reinforcement learning, we... 

In this paper, the interactions of cobalt(III) tetradentate Schiff-base complexes, [Co(S-MeO-salophen)]ClO4, (1), [Co(5-NO 2-salophen)]ClO4, (2), and [Co(5-Br-salophen)]ClO 4, (3), with dopamine, an important neurotransmitter, have been investigated. The formation and kinetic constants for complex formation of [Co(3-MeO-salophen)]ClO4, (1), with dopamine were determined spectrophotometrically in H2O/EtOH solution (4:1) at 30°C by using the Benesi-Hildbrand and Guggenheim equations, respectively. The stoichiometry has been found to be 1:1. The rate and equilibrium constants for the coordination of dopamine to (Co(3-MeO-salophen)]ClO4 were found to be 0.0053 min-1 and 1600 dm3 mol-1,... 

A novel modified carbon-paste electrode was employed for the simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) with good selectivity and high sensitivity. Silver nanoparticle and carbon nanotube modified carbon-paste electrode (Ag/CNT-CPE) displayed excellent electrochemical catalytic activities towards dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA). The oxidation overpotentials of DA and AA were decreased significantly compared with those obtained at the bare CPE. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for the simultaneous determination of DA and AA. The peak separation between DA and AA was 67 mV. The calibration curves for DA and AA were obtained in the range of 8.0 × 10-7-6.4 ×... 

A simple modified TiO2 nanotubes electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition of Pd, Pt and Au nanoparticles. The TiO2 nanotubes electrode was prepared using the anodizing method, followed by modifying Pd nanoparticles onto the tubes surface, offering a uniform conductive surface for electrodeposition of Pt and Au. The performance of the modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry methods. The Au/Pt/Pd/TiO2 NTs modified electrode represented a high sensitivity towards individual detection of dopamine as well as simultaneous detection of dopamine and uric acid using 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.00) as the base solution. In both case,... 

Breast cancer is the most prevalent type of cancer in women; hence, many researches have been focused on developing effective treatment protocols. In this study, a novel nanocarrier was fabricated for gene and photothermal combination cancer therapy by conjugating histone methyltransferase complex subunit SET1 (hSET1) on reduced polydopamine coated graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO-PDA). The rGO-PDA nanocarriers provide higher near-infrared absorption and further integrating with hSET1 antisense as an anticancer gene that down-regulates the amount of hSET1 overexpressed and suppresses the proliferation of cancer cells. The nanoplatform was prepared by polymerizing of dopamine, a mussel adhesive... 

Bio-inspired Human Serum Albumin (HSA) imprinted polydopamine nano-layer was produced through oxidative polymerization of dopamine on the pore surface of HSA modified porous silica particles. The coating thickness was controlled by the reaction time and thereby varied within 0-12. nm. The samples were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, DSC, SEM, TEM, TGA, physisorption and thermoporometry. The characterization confirmed the success of evolution and deposition of polydopamine layer on the silica pore surface. Batch rebinding experiment showed that the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with 8.7. nm coating thickness, in comparison with the thinner and thicker coatings, displays the... 

In this paper, we discuss modeling issues of the Parkinson's tremor. Through the work we have employed physiological structure as well as functioning of the parts in brain that are involved in the disease. To obtain more practical similarity, random behaviors of the connection paths are also considered. Medication or treatment of the disease both by drug prescription and electrical signal stimulation are modeled based on the same model introduced for the disease itself. Two new medication strategies are proposed based on the model to reduce the side effects caused by the present drug prescription. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved  

The pharmaceutical industry is facing enormous challenges due to high drug attribution rates. For the past decades, novel methods have been developed for safety and efficacy testing, as well as for improving early development stages. In vitro screening methods for drug-receptor binding are considered to be good alternatives for decreasing costs in the identification of drug candidates. However, these methods require lengthy and troublesome labeling steps. Biosensors hold great promise due to the fact that label-free detection schemes can be designed in an easy and low-cost manner. In this paper, for the first time in the literature, we aimed to compare the potential of label-free optical and... 

A simple, fast, and sensitive colorimetric technique for determination of laccase activity using dopamine (DA) induced growth of colloidal gold nanoparticles is proposed. It was found that the reduction of AuCl4 − to colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by dopamine (DA) in the presence of citrate ion as stabilizing agent produced a very intense surface plasmon resonance peak of AuNPs at 530 nm. As the activity of laccase (at fixed concentration of DA) increases, the oxidation of DA to dopamine-o-quinone (DOQ) is enhanced. The latter product could not act as the reducing agent for the reduction of AuCl4 − to AuNPs. So, as the activity of laccase increases, the absorbance characteristic to the... 

A simple, fast, and sensitive colorimetric technique for determination of laccase activity using dopamine (DA) induced growth of colloidal gold nanoparticles is proposed. It was found that the reduction of AuCl4 − to colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by dopamine (DA) in the presence of citrate ion as stabilizing agent produced a very intense surface plasmon resonance peak of AuNPs at 530 nm. As the activity of laccase (at fixed concentration of DA) increases, the oxidation of DA to dopamine-o-quinone (DOQ) is enhanced. The latter product could not act as the reducing agent for the reduction of AuCl4 − to AuNPs. So, as the activity of laccase increases, the absorbance characteristic to the... 

Clinical and experimental observations show individual differences in the development of addiction. Increasing evidence supports the hypothesis that dopamine receptor availability in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) predisposes drug reinforcement. Here, modeling striatal-midbrain dopaminergic circuit, we propose a reinforcement learning model for addiction based on the actor-critic model of striatum. Modeling dopamine receptors in the NAc as modulators of learning rate for appetitive-but not aversive-stimuli in the critic-but not the actor-we define vulnerability to addiction as a relatively lower learning rate for the appetitive stimuli, compared to aversive stimuli, in the critic. We... 

Catecholamine neurotransmitters, specifically, dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP), and norepinephrine (NE), are known as substantial indicators of various neurological diseases. Developing rapid detection methods capable of simultaneously screening their concentrations is highly desired for early clinical diagnosis of such diseases. To this aim, we have designed an optical sensor array using three fluorescent dyes with distinct emission bands and have monitored variations in their emission profiles upon the addition of DA, EP, and NE in the presence of gold ions. Because of the different reducing power of catecholamines, differently sized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with different levels of...