Purpose: This study evaluated whether a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) delivery system could safely and accurately deliver nucleic acids to the cell nucleus using the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-C1 plasmid model. Methods: The NLC was formulated using the emulsification method and equipped for cationic lipid-mediated transfection with 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP), which interacts electrostatically with nucleic acid. The NLC attributes, including size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential, were assessed by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The morphological structure was analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Entrapment efficiency was evaluated by a direct method. Cellular uptake mechanisms of pEGFP-C1-NLC and the ability of pEGFP-C1 to penetrate the nucleus of TM4 cells to express EGFP were observed using confocal microscopy. Results: pEGFP-C1-NLC exhibited particle sizes in the range 56-88 nm with a particle charge range of -6.0 to+1.3 mV. The polydispersity index<0.5 showed good size uniformity, and entrapment efficiency of pEGFP-C1in the NLC was 92.06±2.295%. The NLC formulation was internalized predominantly via caveolae-mediated endocytosis, as indicated by EGFP expression following successful delivery of pEGFP by the NLC into the cells. Conclusion: NLC formulation could deliver genetic material to the nucleus and could be considered a gene therapy candidate for spermatogenesis.

This paper presents a new Switched-Capacitor Multilevel Inverter (SCMLI) structure. The presented configuration generates a staircase almost sinusoidal AC voltage by using a single DC source and a few capacitors which its amplitude is several times the input voltage. The operation of the converter is controlled by the help of NLC Modulation strategy to choose the best switching states in a way that they always ensure the self-balancing capability of the capacitors voltages. Low switching frequency, simple control and inherent bipolar output are some of the advantages of the presented SCMLI. In comparison with other existing topologies, to reach a specific voltage level, the structure requires less circuit elements since the capacitors in follower modules can be charged up to 3 times the input voltage. Having a modular structure, facilitates the expansion of the circuit to attain higher voltage levels. In order to investigate the performance of the presented topology, MATLAB software was used. Furthermore, a 13-level laboratory prototype was performed to affirm the efficacy of the circuit under different loads using AVR ATMEGA 16A microcontroller. Both simulation and experimental results accredit the appropriate performance of the converter. Finally, after calculating losses, a theoretical efficiency of 92. 72% is reached.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a type of nutraceuticals which can be used in functional food development however, it is sensitive to oxidation. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were used for the encapsulation of conjugated linoleic acid by hot homogenization method. Among four different solid lipids used in the production of this system (precirol ATO-5, Compritol ATO-888, Cacao butter and lauric acid) only precirol was able to produce acceptable particle size and structure. On the next step, on the basis of response surface method and central composite design, various concentrations of precirol and aqueous phase surfactant (poloxamer) and different ratios of liquid to solid lipid (conjugated linoleic acid to precirol) were used to find the optimum sample of CLA bearing NLC. The particle size and particle size distribution (Span) were in the range of 75-2040 nanometer and 0.44-5.16, respectively and it was observed that by increasing the concentrations of solid lipid and aqueous phase surfactant, the particle size increased considerably. Also, increment in liquid to solid lipid ratio enhanced particle size stability. The NLC formulation containing 2% (w/v) surfactant, 2% (w/v) precirol solid lipid and 50% of CLA to solid lipid ratio was chosen as optimum sample by 93 nm particle size and was stable at 4˚C during 45 days of preservation.

In this paper, we present a new scheme named advanced spatial Modulation for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems. Advanced spatial Modulation achieves more spectral efficiency than ordinary spatial Modulation with using power divider and set the phase of active transmit antennas. Using Power divider enable us to have more than one active antenna in a time slot with only one RF-chain in transmitter. Additionally, we can allocate more spatial bits with map information bits into the phase of the transmit antenna. Then, the performance of the proposed system is simulated and is compared with ordinary spatial Modulation and some MIMO techniques such as orthogonal space time block code and V-BLAST.

Nowadays solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) have been investigated as carrier systems for many applications. SLNs consist of pure solid lipids, while NLCs are made of a solid matrix that entraps liquid lipid nano-compartments. These systems revealed several advantages compared to other colloidal carrier systems. They provide a controlled drug release and an increase in chemical stability of the incorporated drugs. Moreover, they are safe carriers which can be produced easily in a large scale. This paper reviews the commonly used materials, production techniques, characterization, and physical stability of these systems.