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The effect of different buffers on in vitro release of PEG coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles is discussed in this work. We prepared Rhodamine loaded and PEG coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (PEG coated RhB@MSNs) of ~ 650 nm... more
The effect of different buffers on in vitro release of PEG coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles is discussed in this work. We prepared Rhodamine loaded and PEG coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (PEG coated RhB@MSNs) of ~ 650 nm size and studied their release behaviour for 5 hours in various buffer solutions (both Na+ and K+ versions) prepared by standard procedure. We observed that Rhodamine release was highest in the citrate buffer. A comparison of different buffer effects on the in vitro release reveals that it is crucial to choose the right buffer for determining the loaded cargo release in each pH zone (acidic, neutral and basic). Clearly, choosing the wrong combination of buffers for different pH zones would result in completely different interpretation of the release behaviour.
Targeted delivery in Drosophila middle mid-gut at pH < 4.0.
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Remembering features of past feeding experience can refine foraging and food choice. Insects can learn to associate sensory cues with components of food, such as sugars, amino acids, water, salt, alcohol, toxins and pathogens. In the... more
Remembering features of past feeding experience can refine foraging and food choice. Insects can learn to associate sensory cues with components of food, such as sugars, amino acids, water, salt, alcohol, toxins and pathogens. In the fruit fly Drosophila some food components activate unique subsets of dopaminergic neurons (DANs) that innervate distinct functional zones on the mushroom bodies (MBs). This architecture suggests that the overall dopaminergic neuron population could provide a potential cellular substrate through which the fly might learn to value a variety of food components. In addition, such an arrangement predicts that individual component memories reside in unique locations. DANs are also critical for food memory consolidation and deprivation-state dependent motivational control of the expression of food-relevant memories. Here, we review our current knowledge of how nutrient-specific memories are formed, consolidated and specifically retrieved in insects, with a par...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
During olfactory learning in fruit flies, dopaminergic neurons assign value to odor representations in the mushroom body Kenyon cells. Here we identify a class of downstream glutamatergic mushroom body output neurons (MBONs) called M4/6,... more
During olfactory learning in fruit flies, dopaminergic neurons assign value to odor representations in the mushroom body Kenyon cells. Here we identify a class of downstream glutamatergic mushroom body output neurons (MBONs) called M4/6, or MBON-β2β'2a, MBON-β'2mp, and MBON-γ5β'2a, whose dendritic fields overlap with dopaminergic neuron projections in the tips of the β, β', and γ lobes. This anatomy and their odor tuning suggests that M4/6 neurons pool odor-driven Kenyon cell synaptic outputs. Like that of mushroom body neurons, M4/6 output is required for expression of appetitive and aversive memory performance. Moreover, appetitive and aversive olfactory conditioning bidirectionally alters the relative odor-drive of M4β' neurons (MBON-β'2mp). Direct block of M4/6 neurons in naive flies mimics appetitive conditioning, being sufficient to convert odor-driven avoidance into approach, while optogenetically activating these neurons induces avoidance behavior. We...