Studies on the application of dynamic surface tensiometry of serum and cerebrospinal liquid for diagnostics and monitoring of treatment in patients who have rheumatic, neurological or oncological diseases

Morphology of Dried Drop Patterns of Saliva from a Healthy Individual Depending on the Dynamics of Its Surface Tension

Background: The study of processes in the drying drops of biological fluids (dried drop patterns) and the method of dynamic surface tensiometry can be attributed to integral methods of assessing the state of the organism. Research objective: to establish the relationship between the type of crystallization patterns and the surface tension of human saliva in normal conditions. Methods: 100 volunteers (40 males, 60 females) that were aged 30–59 participated in the study. In all saliva samples, the parameters of dynamic tensiometry, types of crystallization patterns and 11 biochemical parameters were determined. Results: No statistically significant differences in the saliva crystallization patterns were observed, depending on the age and gender characteristics of the volunteers. A negative correlation of the area of the crystallization zone and the surface tension of saliva is shown. When considering the crystallization patterns, their considerable variability was noted; on this basis, the entire studied sample was divided into four clusters by surface tension. Conclusion: In general, the crystallization patterns that are inside the selected groups remain quite heterogeneous. This increases the likelihood of making an incorrect diagnosis when using visual methods to evaluate the crystallization patterns, which significantly limits the use of such diagnostic methods in clinical practice.

Surface tension and intrinsic amyloid fluorescence of serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples in Alzheimer´s disease

AIM

Surface tension of biological fluids can be influenced by changes in oligomerization or aggregation of surfactant peptides or proteins. Amphiphilic peptides of amyloid-β or other amyloidogenic peptides/proteins display properties of surfactants, oligomerization and aggregation increase also their fluorescence intensity compared with native structures. Results/methodology: We estimated surface tension and native/ThioflavinT-based/intrinsic amyloid fluorescence intensity in serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples for their evalution as diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer´s disease (AD).

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that values of surface tension are not a suitable biomarker for AD. However, the ratio of ThioflavinT-based fluorescence to intrinsic amyloid fluorescence in cerebrospinal fluid appears to be an acceptable supportive diagnostic biomarker for AD (its sensitivity was 61.1%, and the specificity 70.8% when compared with aged controls).

Interfacial tensiometry and dilational surface visco-elasticity of biological liquids in medicine

Dynamic surface tensions and dilational visco-elasticity are easy accessible parameters of liquids. For human body liquids, such as urine, blood serum, amniotic fluid, gastric juice, saliva and others, these parameters are very characteristic for the health status of people. In case of a disease the composition of certain liquids specifically changes and the measured characteristics of dynamic surface tension of the dilational surface elasticity and viscosity reflect these changes in a clear way. Thus, this kind of physico-chemical measurements represent sensitive tools for evaluating the severity of a disease and can serve as control tool for the efficiency of applied therapies. The overview summarises the results of a successful work over about 25years on this subject and gives specific insight into a number of diseases for which the diagnostics as well as the therapy control have been significantly improved by the application of physico-chemical experimental techniques.

Changes in Surface Tension of Aqueous Humor in Anterior Segment Ocular Pathologies

The aim of this study was to identify and determine differences in surface tension (ST) of aqueous humor (AH) in patients with cataract, glaucoma and Fuchs endothelial dystrophy (FED). Two hundred and two samples of AH were analyzed (control n = 22; cataract n = 56; glaucoma n = 81; and n = FED 43). Patients with previous history of anterior segment surgery, anterior segment pathology or intraocular injections were excluded from the study. Different types of glaucoma were identified, cataracts were graded using total phaco time data during surgery and clinical severity of FED was assessed by clinical examination. Around 150 microliters AH were obtained during the first step of a surgical procedure, lensectomy, phacoemulsification, nonpenetrating deep sclerotomy (NPDE) and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). A pendant drop-based optical goniometer OCA-15 (Dataphysics, Filderstadt, Germany) was used to measure surface tension. Mean ST was 65.74 ± 3.76 mN/m, 63.59 ± 5.50 mN/m, 64.35 ± 6.99 mN/m, and 60.89 ± 3.73 mN/m in control, cataract, glaucoma and FED patients respectively. Statistically significant differences between FED and control group were found (p < 0.001). Lens condition, cataract maturity, age, and gender did not show influence in ST. ST of AH is significantly decreased in FED patients independently from age and lens condition. These findings may aid to the understanding of the physiopathology of the disease.

Surface tension in human pathophysiology and its application as a medical diagnostic tool

Introduction: Pathological features of disease appear to be quite different. Despite this diversity, the common feature of various disorders underlies physicochemical and biochemical factors such as surface tension. Human biological fluids comprise various proteins and phospholipids which are capable of adsorption at fluid interfaces and play a vital role in the physiological function of human organs. Surface tension of body fluids correlates directly to the development of pathological states.

Methods: In this review, the variety of human diseases mediated by the surface tension changes of biological phenomena and the failure of biological fluids to remain in their native state are discussed.

Results: Dynamic surface tension measurements of human biological fluids depend on various parameters such as sex, age and changes during pregnancy or certain disease. It is expected that studies of surface tension behavior of human biological fluids will provide additional information and might become useful in medical practice. Theoretical background on surface tension measurement and surface tension values of reference fluids obtained from healthy and sick patients are depicted.

Conclusion: It is well accepted that no single biomarker will be effective in clinical diagnosis. The surface tension measurement combined with routine lab tests may be a novel non-invasive method which can not only facilitate the discovery of diagnostic models for various diseases and its severity, but also be a useful tool for monitoring treatment efficacy. We therefore expect that studies of surface tension behavior of human biological fluids will provide additional useful information in medical practice.

Tensiometric Profiles and Their Modulation by Cholesterol: Implications in Cervical Cancer

Langmuir monolayers offer a convenient model for understanding the behavior of many natural systems like biological membranes. This technique was used to characterize the role of cholesterol, lipophilic, and lipophobic components of tissues in cervical cancer by evaluating their tensiometric profiles. Monolayers were formed on the surface of deionized water by spreading tissue components corresponding to 1 mg of the tissue for studying their surface pressure-area isotherms at body temperature. The cholesterol content of cancerous human cervical tissues was higher than that of the normal human cervical tissues. The addition of 3 mug cholesterol/mg tissue to the normal organic phase changed its tensiometric profile to that of the cancerous profile. Statistically significant tensiometric parameters showed that cholesterol acts as a rigidifier in the cervical tissues and has a remarkable role in shifting the normal cervical lipophilic surface activity towards that of the cancerous lipophilic monolayer. Several mixtures of the lipophilic-lipophobic components of both cancerous as well as normal cervical tissues also were characterized to reveal the relative contribution of these phases in the cervical cancer tensiometric profiles. Though the actual ratio of aqueous and organic phases in the normal tissue was 97:3 by weight, the tissue homogenate behavior was similar to that of a 50:50 mixture by weight, indicating the nonadditivity of the lipophilic-lipophobic components. The addition of cholesterol to a 97: 3 by weight aqueous: organic mixture of normal cervical tissue also revealed the rigidifying role of cholesterol. Unlike in normal tissue homogenates, the cancerous tissue homogenate tensiometric profile had more contribution from its aqueous phase components and an additive interaction between the lipophilic and lipophobic components was observed in the tissue homogenate. Thus, distinct differences in the interactions between lipophilic and lipophobic components were observed in cancerous and normal states. The Langmuir monolayer technique was sensitive to detect such changes in the form of altered tensiometric profiles. Therapeutic strategies may be designed to modulate these tensiometric profiles to our benefit.

Short-time behavior of mixed diffusion-barrier controlled adsorption

This paper focuses on the short-time adsorption kinetics of nonionic surfactants onto water/air surfaces, analyzed in the context of the mixed diffusion-barrier controlled adsorption modeling framework. Specifically, we reconcile the apparent contradiction between theoretical prediction and experimental observations on the adsorption kinetics mechanism at short times: while the mixed diffusion-barrier controlled model predicts a barrier-controlled adsorption, as well as the impossibility of a diffusion-controlled adsorption at asymptotic short times, the short-time experimental dynamic surface tension (DST) behavior of many nonionic surfactants has been interpreted to result from diffusion-controlled adsorption at asymptotic short times. This is because the short-time experimental DST of these surfactants displays a t variation, which is considered as a fingerprint for the existence of diffusion-controlled adsorption, based on the short-time asymptotic behavior of the diffusion-controlled adsorption model. As a result of this interpretation, the fundamental physical nature of the energy barrier has been proposed to be associated with high surfactant surface concentrations. In this paper, we derive a new nonasymptotic short-time formalism of the mixed diffusion-barrier controlled model to describe surfactant adsorption onto a spherical pendant-bubble surface, including determining the ranges of time and surfactant surface concentration values where the short-time formalism is applicable. Based on this formalism, we find that one can expect to observe an apparent t variation of the DST at short times even for the mixed diffusion-barrier controlled adsorption model. We analyze the consequence of this finding by re-evaluating the existing notions of the energy barrier. We conclude that the energy barrier is associated with the adsorption of a single surfactant molecule onto a clean surface.

Ventricular dilation as an instability of intracranial dynamics

We address the question of the ventricles' dilation as a possible instability of the intracranial dynamics. The ventricular system is shown to be governed by a dynamical equation derived from first principles. This general nonlinear scheme is linearized around a well-defined steady state which is mapped onto a pressure-volume model with an algebraic effective compliance depending on the ventricles' geometry, the ependyma's elasticity, and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surface tension. Instabilities of different natures are then evidenced. A first type of structural instability results from the compelling effects of the CSF surface tension and the elastic properties of the ependyma. A second type of dynamical instability occurs for low enough values of the aqueduct's conductance. This last case is then shown to be accompanied by a spontaneous ventricle's dilation. A strong correlation with some active hydrocephalus is evidenced and discussed. The transfer function of the ventricles, compared to a low-pass filter, are calculated in both the stable and unstable regimes and appear to be very different.

Interfacial properties as biophysical markers of cervical cancer

Monolayers at air-liquid interfaces offer a convenient model for understanding the behavior of many natural systems like biological membranes. Langmuir monolayers were used to characterize the interfacial properties of tissue homogenates, organic phases and aqueous phases of tissue biopsy samples from 30 patients of cervical cancer and 15 normals. Our results reveal that the tensiometric parameters can differentiate between cancer and normal tissues obtained from human cervix and were statistically significant using t-test (P<0.05). The minimum surface tension of the cancer tissue monolayer was 52.9+/-4.4 mN/m, 1.4-folds greater than the normal cervical tissue homogenate value of 38.5+/-2.6 mN/m. The normal tissue homogenate isotherm had a hysteresis area of 90.3 microJ, which was approximately 6.2 times greater than that of the cervical cancer tissue monolayer. The total lipid and phospholipid contents of the cancerous cervical tissue were roughly double that of the normal cervical tissue and the surface activity was also in line with this observation. The difference in hysteresis of the cancerous and normal tissues indicates a decreased stability of the cancerous tissue film as compared to normal. The difference in surface activity denotes alterations in the molecular packing of the tissues in the cancerous state, which may have implications in terms of drug permeability and responsiveness. Further, differences in surface activity may play a role in altered cell adhesion and metastasis. This study is the first to evaluate surface properties of cancerous tissues and can lead to the development of a biophysical marker of cervical cancer based on interfacial properties.

Dynamics of protein and mixed protein/surfactant adsorption layers at the water/fluid interface

The adsorption behaviour of proteins and systems mixed with surfactants of different nature is described. In the absence of surfactants the proteins mainly adsorb in a diffusion controlled manner. Due to lack of quantitative models the experimental results are discussed partly qualitatively. There are different types of interaction between proteins and surfactant molecules. These interactions lead to protein/surfactant complexes the surface activity and conformation of which are different from those of the pure protein. Complexes formed with ionic surfactants via electrostatic interaction have usually a higher surface activity, which becomes evident from the more than additive surface pressure increase. The presence of only small amounts of ionic surfactants can significantly modify the structure of adsorbed proteins. With increasing amounts of ionic surfactants, however, an opposite effect is reached as due to hydrophobic interaction and the complexes become less surface active and can be displaced from the interface due to competitive adsorption. In the presence of non-ionic surfactants the adsorption layer is mainly formed by competitive adsorption between the compounds and the only interaction is of hydrophobic nature. Such complexes are typically less surface active than the pure protein. From a certain surfactant concentration of the interface is covered almost exclusively by the non-ionic surfactant. Mixed layers of proteins and lipids formed by penetration at the water/air or by competitive adsorption at the water/chloroform interface are formed such that at a certain pressure the components start to separate. Using Brewster angle microscopy in penetration experiments of proteins into lipid monolayers this interfacial separation can be visualised. A brief comparison of the protein adsorption at the water/air and water/n-tetradecane shows that the adsorbed amount at the water/oil interface is much stronger and the change in interfacial tension much larger than at the water/air interface. Also some experimental data on the dilational elasticity of proteins at both interfaces measured by a transient relaxation technique are discussed on the basis of the derived thermodynamic model. As a fast developing field of application the use of surface tensiometry and rheometry of mixed protein/surfactant mixed layers is demonstrated as a new tool in the diagnostics of various diseases and for monitoring the progress of therapies.