Differential expression of litchi XET genes in relation to fruit growth

Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase (XET) catalyses the transglycosylation of xyloglucan, the major hemicellulose polymer, which has been thought to mediate the cross-linking of cellulose microfibrils in cellular walls and proposed to be involved in the control of cell wall relaxation. To understand the relationship between litchi fruit cracking and gene expression patterns, three XET genes from litchi fruit were identified and then examined for their expression profiles in pericarp and aril tissues at different development stages, using a cracking-resistant cultivar, 'Huaizhi', and a cracking-susceptible cultivar, 'Nuomici'. Three full-length cDNAs of 1267, 1095 and 1156 bp encoding XETs, named LcXET1, LcXET2 and LcXET3, respectively, were isolated from expanding fruit using RT-PCR and RACE-PCR (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) methods. Northern blotting analysis showed that LcXET1 mRNA accumulation occurred much earlier in aril tissues at 59 days after anthesis (DAA) than in pericarp tissues at 73 DAA in 'Nuomici'. However, it appeared at almost the same time (66 DAA) in pericarp and aril tissues in 'Huaizhi', which suggested that differential accumulation of LcXET1 in pericarp and aril tissues in 'Nuomici' and 'Huaizhi' was closely associated with fruit cracking. LcXET2 mRNA accumulation could be detected in pericarp and aril tissues throughout fruit development but exhibited a differential accumulation pattern between pericarp and aril tissues. In the aril of 'Nuomici', intensive signal bands were detectable at 59-73 DAA in rapidly expanding fruits of 'Nuomici' but only weak bands could be found in the pericarp tissues. In contrast, moderate signal bands were detectable both in pericarp and aril tissues of 'Huaizhi' fruits. Furthermore, LcXET3 showed constitutive expression in both pericarp and aril tissues of developing 'Nuomici' and 'Huaizhi' litchi fruit. In addition, differential expression patterns of three XETs genes were observed in different tissues of litchi, with only LcXET1 being fruit-specific. To further address the role of LcXET in fruit cracking, alpha-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) was used to treat 'Nuomoci' to reduce fruit cracking. Enhanced LcXET1 mRNA accumulation appeared in pericarp while LcXET2 and LcXET3 mRNA accumulation enhanced in aril tissues in the NAA-treated fruits. Thus, LcXET1 is more likely to play a role in reducing litchi fruit cracking than LcXET2 and LcXET3.

Puerarin injection for unstable angina pectoris

BACKGROUND

Puerarin is extracted from the Chinese herb puerariae lobata. Many users of Chinese herbal medicine believe that puerarin has positive effects in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD). In recent years puerarin injection has been widely used to treat CHD and angina pectoris.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the benefits and harms of puerarin injection for unstable angina.

SEARCH STRATEGY

The following electronic databases were searched: The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register on The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2004), MEDLINE (1995 to 2004), EMBASE (1995 to 2004), CBM (1995 to 2004), Chinese Cochrane Centre Controlled Trials Register (to 2004), Current Controlled Trials (www.controlled-trials.com) and The National Research Register. We also hand searched 60 Chinese traditional medicine journals.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials undertaken on adults with unstable angina evaluating the following types of interventions: Puerarin injection compared to western drugs or placebo, or puerarin injection used with western drugs compared to western drugs alone.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Data were extracted and analysed independently by two reviewers. Differences in data extraction and analysis were resolved by consensus, referring back to the original article. Study authors were contacted for additional information. Adverse effects information was collected from the trials.

MAIN RESULTS

20 trials involving 1240 people were included. All trials identified were classified as having a high risk of bias because of poor reported methodology. The duration of treatment was 7-20 days and no information supplied suggested longer follow-ups were conducted for any trials. This limited the observation to participants who were not undertaking normal activities of daily living. The primary outcome (death) was not report in any trial. For all the secondary outcome measures, frequency of acute angina attacks, improvements in ECG, doses and incidence of nitroglycerine needed and levels of plasma endothelin, there was no evidence that puerarin had better or worse effects to other conventional treatments. There was strong evidence to suggest that puerarin injection plus western drugs was a better treatment option than western drugs alone.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Puerarin injection may be effective in unstable angina when used in addition to conventional treatments. However, these finding should be interpreted with care because of the very low methodological quality of studies and potential publication bias. In the light of the findings, a more rigorously designed, randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial is needed.

Intratumor murine interleukin-12 gene therapy suppressed the growth of local and distant Ewing's sarcoma

We evaluated the effect of interleukin-12 (IL-12) gene therapy using an Ewing's sarcoma animal model in T-cell-deficient nude mice. Subcutaneous injection of TC71 cells resulted in tumor development by day 5. Mice were treated with a single intratumor injection of adenovirus beta-galactosidase (Ad.beta-gal) or adenovirus murine IL-12 (Ad.mIL-12) (2 x 10(9) PFU) and killed 1-7 days later. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of tumor tissue demonstrated peak expression of IL-12 p35 and p40 at 48 h, which persisted up to 7 days. For in vivo therapy, mice received intratumor Ad.beta-gal or Ad.mIL-12 twice weekly for 2.5 weeks starting on day 6. Ad.mIL-12-treated tumors were significantly smaller (median volume, 19.7 mm3; range, 3.41-159.5 mm3) than Ad.beta-gal-treated tumors (median volume, 3214.9 mm3; range 1679.9-5909.8 mm3, P<0.003) on day 31. The weight of Ad.mIL-12-treated tumors was also lighter than the Ad.beta-gal-treated tumors (median, 2 mg; range, 1-5 mg versus median, 1960 mg; range 1640-5230 mg, P<0.01). Ad.mIL-12 therapy significantly prolonged the survival time and also inhibited the growth of an untreated tumor on the contralateral side. Immunohistochemistry analysis of the IL-12-treated tumors demonstrated IL-12 expression with increased Fas, Fas ligand and tumor cell apoptosis. CD31 and vascular endothelial growth factor expression were decreased. These data suggest that IL-12 gene therapy may be useful in the treatment of Ewing's sarcoma.

Dendrimer crosslinked collagen as a corneal tissue engineering scaffold: mechanical properties and corneal epithelial cell interactions

Generation 2 polypropyleneimine octaamine dendrimers were used to generate highly crosslinked collagen with mechanical properties that would make it appropriate for use as a corneal tissue-engineering scaffold. Crosslinking of a highly concentrated collagen solution (2-4%) was effected using the water-soluble carbodiimide 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). The multifunctional dendrimers were introduced as novel multifunctional crosslinkers after the activation of the carboxylic acid groups of glutamic and aspartic acid residues in collagen. Glutaraldehyde, a common collagen crosslinker, was used as comparison, as was EDC, itself an alternative crosslinker, which forms "zero-length or self-crosslinking". The mechanical properties resultant gels were determined. Young's modulus of the dendrimer crosslinked gels was significantly higher than that observed with the other crosslinkers, increasing to 5 MPa compared with 0.1 MPa for the EDC crosslinked gels. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the gels demonstrated the presence of fibrils in the thermally gelled collagen controls; no fibrils were observed in the dendrimer crosslinked gels. As a result, the optical transparency of the dendrimer crosslinked collagen was significantly better than that of the collagen thermal gels. The EDC and glutaraldehyde crosslinked gels were generally less transparent than those crosslinked with the dendrimers. Glucose permeation results demonstrated that the dendrimer crosslinked collagen had higher glucose permeability than natural human cornea. Dendrimer crosslinked collagen gels supported human corneal epithelial cell growth and adhesion, with no cell toxicity. In comparison, some potentially cytotoxic effects were observed with glutaraldehyde crosslinked collagen. Overall, the dendrimer crosslinked collagen gels showed promising properties that suggest that these might be suitable scaffolds for corneal tissue engineering and potentially other tissue engineering applications.

Effects of anti-ethylene treatments on browning and energy metabolism of harvested litchi fruit

Litchi fruit were treated with 10 mL/L ethylene (C2H4), 0.1% cobalt chloride (CoCl2) and 1 mL/L 1-methylcyclopropene, respectively, packed individually in closed but vented containers, and then stored at ambient temperature (28–33°C). The effects of these treatments on the browning, energy metabolism and disease incidence of the fruit were investigated. Treatment with C2H4 enhanced the activities of polyphenol oxidase and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase. Ethylene also increased the accumulation of ADP and AMP, but decreased energy charge in fruit peel. Cobalt chloride treatment had an inhibitory effect on increases of peroxidase activity, ATP : ADP ratio, energy charge and ATP, ADP and AMP. Browning index was reduced by 8.4 and 10.4% and disease index was reduced by 10.7 and 12.7% in CoCl2 and 1-methylcyclopropene-treated fruit, respectively, suggesting a relationship between energy metabolism, browning and disease index.

Crosslinking of collagen with dendrimers

Polypropyleneimine octaamine dendrimers were studied as an alternative means of generating highly crosslinked collagen. Crosslinking was effected by using the water-soluble carbodiimide 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethyl aminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC). The multifunctional dendrimers were introduced as novel crosslinkers after the activation of the carboxylic acid groups of glutamic and aspartic acid residues in collagen. The conventional crosslinker glutaraldehyde was used as a control. EDC, itself an alternative crosslinker, which forms zero-length crosslinks by directly covalently binding collagen molecules, as well as a low molecular weight diamine and a low molecular weight triamine, were also studied. All of the resultant gels were freeze-dried to obtain sponges for characterization. Water uptake of the gels decreased from 90% to 60% after dendrimer crosslinking compared with EDC crosslinking. DSC results showed an increase of denaturation temperature of collagen after crosslinking with the various methods. The generation 2 and 3 dendrimer-crosslinked collagen samples had the highest denaturation temperature, at up to 90 degrees C compared with 50 degrees C in the uncrosslinked collagen control. The dendrimer-crosslinked collagen also showed unique thermal characteristics, with multiple denaturation temperature peaks in contrast to the single peak noted with the other crosslinked collagens. This is thought to be due to the heterogeneous nature of dendrimer crosslinking. Collagenase results revealed that the dendrimer-crosslinked collagen had a comparative resistance to proteolysis to glutaraldehyde-crosslinked collagen. Measurement of activated carboxylic acid groups before and after crosslinking indicated that 40-70% of the activated carboxylic acid was consumed during crosslinking with dendrimers. The results suggest that dendrimer crosslinking of collagen produces stable gels. The presence of a large number of excess amine groups in the dendrimers may also be useful for subsequent modification with biologically relevant groups.

A novel DNA vaccine based on ubiquitin-proteasome pathway targeting 'self'-antigens expressed in melanoma/melanocyte

Cancer vaccine that targets 'self'-antigens expressed at high levels in tumor cells is a potentially useful immunotherapy, but immunological tolerance often defeats this strategy. Here, we describe the use of a naked DNA vaccine encoding a self tumor antigen, tyrosinase-related protein 2, to whose N-terminus ubiquitin is fused in a 'nonremovable' fashion. Unlike conventional DNA vaccines, this vaccine broke the tolerance and induced protective immunity to melanoma in C57BL/6 mice, as evaluated by tumor growth, survival rate and lung metastasis. The protective immunity was cancelled in the proteasome activator PA28alpha/beta knockout mice. Moreover, this vaccination exhibited therapeutic effects on melanoma implanted before vaccination. Our findings provide evidence for the first time that naked DNA vaccines encoding a ubiquitin-fused self-antigen preferentially induce the main effector CD8+ T cells through efficient proteolysis mediated by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, and lead the way to strategies aimed at targeting tissue differentiation antigens expressed by tumors.

Genetic evidence of local adaptation of wheat yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) within France

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST), a clonal basidiomycete causing yellow rust disease on wheat, has a long record of 'overcoming' cultivar resistance introduced by breeders. Despite the long dispersal capacity of its spores, the French population of PST presents a strong geographical structure, with the presence of a specific pathotype (array of avirulence genes) at high frequencies in the south of France. The genetic diversity underlying this differentiation was analysed by microsatellite and AFLP markers. A total of 213 French isolates belonging to 10 pathotypes collected over a 15-year period were investigated. For each of the 12 microsatellites used, polymorphism resulted from a unique allelic variant associated to the south-specific pathotype. This pathotype was characterized by 40 specific markers over the total of 63 polymorphins detected using 15 AFLP primer combinations. Phylogeographical analysis indicated a strictly clonal structure of the population, and a strong genomic divergence between the northern population and a south-specific clone. Both virulence and molecular data show that the northern French population belongs to the northwestern European population, whereas the southern clone is most likely related to a Mediterranean population, the two subpopulations resulting from the ancient divergence of two clonal lineages. While the virulence complexity in the northern population may be explained by the successive introduction of corresponding resistance genes in cultivars, the maintenance of a simple virulence type in southern France, despite gene flow between the two populations, may be explained in terms of host cultivars repartition and local adaptation to specific host or climatic conditions.

Chinese medicinal herbs for acute bronchitis

BACKGROUND

Acute bronchitis is one of the most common diagnoses made by primary-care physicians. It is traditionally treated with antibiotics, (although the evidence for their effectiveness is weak and modest at best), and other even less effective treatments. Chinese medicinal herbs have been also used as treatment.

OBJECTIVES

This review aims to summarise the existing evidence on the comparative effectiveness and safety of Chinese medicinal herbs for treating uncomplicated acute bronchitis.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 1, 2005), which includes the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's specialised register; The Chinese Cochrane Centre's Controlled Trials Register (up to December 2004); MEDLINE (1966 to March Week 1, 2005); EMBASE (1988 to December 2004); and the Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM) (1980 to December 2004).

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials comparing Chinese medicinal herbs with placebo, antibiotics or other Western medicines for the treatment of uncomplicated acute bronchitis.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

At least two authors extracted data and assessed trial quality.

MAIN RESULTS

Four trials reported the time to improvement of cough, fever, and rales associated with bronchitis and showed that patients treated with Chinese herbs had a shorter duration of signs and symptoms. Two trials reported the proportion of patients with improved signs and symptoms at follow up and showed that Chinese herbs were beneficial in terms of relief of signs and symptoms. Thirteen trials analysed the data on physician global assessment of improvement at follow up. Nine of thirteen trials showed that Chinese herbs were superior to routine treatment and the other four trials showed a similar effect to routine treatment. In general, Chinese herbs appeared beneficial. Only one trial reported on adverse effects during treatment.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

There is insufficient quality data to recommend the routine use of Chinese herbs for acute bronchitis. The benefit found in this systematic review could be due to publication bias and study-design limitations of the individual studies. In addition, the safety of Chinese herbs is unknown due to the lack of toxicological evidence on these Chinese herbs, though adverse events are rarely reported. Chinese herbs should be used carefully.

beta2-Adrenergic receptor gene variations associated with stage-2 hypertension in northern Han Chinese

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms in the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB2) (-47C/T, Arg16/Gly, Gln27/Glu) and stage-2 hypertension in northern Han Chinese. We recruited 503 individuals with stage-2 hypertension and 504 age-, gender-, and area-matched controls from the International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in Asia. Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP. Logistic regression analyses revealed that carriers of the Gly16 allele had a significantly higher odds ratio (OR) for hypertension, while carriers of the Glu27 allele had a significantly lower OR. In multivariate linear regression analyses, the Arg16/Gly and Gln27/Glu genotypes were significantly associated with systolic blood pressure level (p = 0.004 and p < 0.001, respectively). In haplotype analyses, we found the frequency of haplotypes composed of the Gly16 and Gln27 alleles was significantly higher, whereas the frequency of haplotypes composed of the Arg16 and Glu27 alleles was significantly lower, in hypertensives compared to their controls (both p = 0.001). These results indicate that the Gly16 and Gln27 alleles of the ADRB2 gene confer an increased risk for stage-2 hypertension in this northern Han Chinese population.

Chinese medicinal herbs for influenza

BACKGROUND

Influenza is an acute respiratory communicable disease which can cause high morbidity and mortality in an epidemic. Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs following a particular theory may be a potential medicine of choice.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this review was to assess the therapeutic effect and adverse reaction of Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs in treating uncomplicated influenza.

SEARCH STRATEGY

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2004); MEDLINE (January 1966 to October 2004); EMBASE (January 1988 to October 2004); CBM (Chinese Biomedical Database) (January 1980 to December 2003); and the Chinese Cochrane Center's Controlled Trials Register (up to December 2003). We also searched Current Controlled Trials (www.controlled-trials.com) and the National Research Register (http://www.update-software.com/National/) for ongoing trials and reference lists of articles. We wrote to researchers in the field, or authors of studies evaluated in the review for more information.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised and quasi-randomised trials comparing traditional Chinese medicinal herbs with placebo, or various other Chinese medicinal herbs, or with other current regimes normally used in care or comparing drugs with herbal preparations to simple drugs in treating defined uncomplicated influenza patients.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

At least two reviewers extracted data and assessed trial quality.

MAIN RESULTS

Eleven studies with the number of participants ranged from 52 to 479. In total 2,088 participants were included in the review. As the interventions of the included studies were different from each other and most of the studies were of low quality, we did not perform a summary meta-analysis. Some of the studies showed positive results favouring Traditional Chinese medicinal herb treatment compared to antiviral or antipyretic-analgesic drugs or the combination of them. Only three studies mentioned adverse reactions but no detailed data were acquired in the included studies. Eleven studies with the number of participants ranged from 52 to 479, 2,088 in total were included. As the interventions of the included studies were different from each other and most of the studies were of low quality, we failed to perform a summary meta-analysis. Some of the studies showed positive results favouring Traditional Chinese medicinal herb treatment compared to antiviral or antipyretic-analgesic drugs or the combination of them. Only three studies mentioned adverse reactions but no detailed data was acquired in the included studies.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The small number of included studies and participants, as well as the low quality of most studies, made the evidence far from conclusive for clinical decision making, although traditional Chinese medicinal herbs as a whole seem to be comparatively or more effective compared to different chemical drugs. A certain herbal preparation could not be recommended for there was not enough evidence. More high quality randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with similar interventions are required to strengthen the evidence for the efficacy and safety of certain herbal preparation.

Analysis of immobilizedL-cysteine on polymers

Recently, we reported that L-cysteine attached to polymeric biomaterials, without prior nitrosation, enhances the hemocompatibility of biomaterials via exploiting endogenous nitric oxide (NO). As part of the polymer optimization process to further enhance platelet inhibition, a kinetic model is being developed to predict the release rate of NO. A key model parameter is the immobilized concentration of L-cysteine. This article demonstrates how several chemiluminescence-based assays, previously utilized for measuring thiols in solution, were successfully adapted to quantify immobilized L-cysteine. The assays showed that the immobilized L-cysteine on the modified PET sample is within the range of 4.1 to 6.5 nmol/cm(2). An advantage of using the more successful chemiluminescence-based assay is that it can accurately measure molar concentrations of any thiol-containing compound with a detection limit in the pmol range. The major disadvantage is that L-cysteine must first be broken off of the polymer and released into solution prior to measurement, therefore leaving the sample unable to be reused. Other thiol-measuring techniques, such as fluorescence microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were used to provide qualitative and semiquantitative analysis to substantiate the polymer development.

Thermodynamic model of electric-field-induced pattern formation in binary dielectric fluids

An electric-field-induced phase transition and pattern formation in a binary dielectric fluid layer are studied using a coarse-grained free-energy functional. The electrostatic part of the free energy is a nonlinear functional of the dielectric function, which depends in turn on the local colloidal concentration. We determine the phase coexistence curve and find that beyond a critical electric field the system phase separates. Accompanying the phase separation are patterns similar to those observed in a spinodal decomposition of an ordinary binary fluid. The temporal evolution of the phase separating patterns are discussed both analytically and numerically by integrating a Cahn-Hilliard type of equation.

Partitioning of model toxins to hydrophobically terminated DAB dendrimers

Dendrimers are attractive in biological and biomedical applications due to the similarity in their molecular size to biologically relevant molecules and the large number of chain ends available functionalization. In the current work, we examined the potential of diamino butane (DAB) dendrimers functionalized with long alkyl chains as partitioning agents for hydrophobic toxins for use as a prefiltering stage in a bioartiticial liver. DAB dendrimers of various generations that had been previously fully modified with palmitoyl chloride were obtained. A study of the kinetics of partitioning of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) suggested that while significant toxin removal occurred in 30 s, although a slight time dependent increase in removal was noted up to 60 minutes. The partitioning of 6 hydrophobic toxins from aqueous solution to the modified dendrimers in 30 minutes was examined. The results demonstrated that a number of factors, including the pKa of the toxin, its octanol water partitioning coefficient and molecular size contributed to the level of toxin removal. Toxin removal on a molar basis increased with increasing dendrimer generation for all toxins, with the modified G5 dendrimers partitioning 50-100 toxin molecules in most cases. Dendrimer modification with C4 alkyl chains rather than Cl5 chains significantly decreased toxin removal, although chains longer than C10 seemed to partition equal amounts of toxins. The results of the study demonstrate that water-soluble dendrimers modified with hydrophobic end groups may be useful for the removal of toxins from the blood in a prereaction step for a bioartificial liver, but that a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of removal may be necessary before it is possible to predict the levels of toxin removal.

Prevalence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in the Chinese adult population: International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in Asia (InterASIA)

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS

To estimate the prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in the general adult population of China.

METHODS

The International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in ASIA, conducted from 2000 to 2001, included a nationally representative sample of 15 540 adults, aged 35 to 74 years. An overnight fasting blood specimen was collected to measure serum glucose and information on history of diabetes and use of hypoglycaemic medications was obtained by a standard questionnaire. Undiagnosed diabetes (fasting glucose > or =7.0 mmol/l) and impaired fasting glucose (6.1-6.9 mmol/l) were defined using the American Diabetes Association criteria.

RESULTS

Prevalence of self-reported diagnosed diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, and impaired fasting glucose in Chinese adults were 1.3%, 4.2%, and 7.3%, respectively. Overall, 5.2% or 12.7 million men and 5.8% or 13.3 million women in China aged 35 to 74 years had diabetes (self-reported diagnosis plus undiagnosed diabetes). The age-standardized prevalence of diabetes was higher in residents of northern compared to southern China (7.4% vs 5.4%, p<0.001) and in those living in urban compared to rural areas (7.8% vs 5.1%, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION

Our results show that the prevalence of diabetes in the adult population in China is much higher than previously reported. Three out of every four diabetes patients are undiagnosed, indicative of a lack of population-based screening programmmes and a relatively rapid and recent increase in incidence of diabetes. These results indicate that diabetes has become a major public health problem in China and underscore the need for national strategies aimed at prevention and treatment of diabetes.

Novel dendrimer based polyurethanes for PEO incorporation

A series of segmented polyurethanes based on methylene diisocyanate/poly (tetramethylene oxide) and chain extended with either ethylene diamine or butane diol in combination with a generation 2 polypropylenimine octaamine dendrimer were synthesized. For polymer synthesis, the dendrimers were protected with either t-boc or Fmoc groups and were incorporated into the polyurethane microstructure to permit further functionalization with biologically active groups. Following deprotection, the dendrimers were reacted with succinimidyl propionate polyethylene oxide (SPA-PEO) to improve the protein resistance of the polymers and to examine the potential of this technique for polymer functionalization. Different synthesis techniques were examined to optimize the incorporation of the PEO into the polymer microstructure. Incorporation of the dendrimers and the PEO were confirmed by NMR and FTIR. Gel permeation chromatography was used to examine the molecular weights of the various polyurethanes. The dendrimer incorporated polymers had significantly lower molecular weights than the ED or BDO chain extended controls, likely due to lower reactivity of the dendrimers as a result of steric factors. Following PEO reaction, the molecular weights of the resultant polymers were consistent with the levels of PEO incorporation noted by comparison of peak intensities in the NMR spectra. Due to the highly hydrophilic nature of the PEO, some migration to the polymer surface was expected. Water contact angles and XPS, used to characterize the surfaces, suggest that there was some PEO enrichment at the surface of the polymers. Adsorption of radiolabeled fibrinogen to the polymer surfaces was decreased by a factor of approximately 40% in some of the PEO incorporated polymers. There were also differences in the patterns of plasma protein adsorption on the various surfaces as evaluated by SDS PAGE and immunoblotting. Therefore, the use of dendrimers in biomaterials for incorporation of a large number of functional groups seems to be promising.