Anti-Hyperuricemic Effect of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles against Monosodium Urate Crystals Induced Gouty Arthritis in BALB/c Mice.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO-NPs) exhibit exceptional properties which can be utilized in various aspects of biological sciences. In this experiment we investigated the anti-gout effectiveness of FeO-NPs in mice. BALB/c mice were induced gouty arthritis by administering monosodium urate (MSU) crystals. These gout induced mice were treated with three different concentrations of FeO-NPs (5 ppm, 10 ppm and 20 ppm). Precipitation method was utilized for the synthesis of FeO-NPs, these synthesized NPs were of average 54 nm in size and were characterized using XRD, SEM and EDS. FeO-NPs is given orally three weeks by using FeO-NPs solution to substitute drinking water. Blood biochemical parameters including liver function tests (LFTs), renal function tests (RFTs), lipid profile and blood count have been tested. It has been found that uric acid, blood urea and creatinine have decreased significantly after three weeks of FeO-NP administration (P Value < 0.001) thus suppressing hyperuricemia and gouty arthritis. Additionally, the liver enzymes analysis showed a slight increase in AST, ALT and alkaline phosphatase levels (P Value < 0.001). Histopathological research revealed no significant abnormal changes in the liver, muscle and kidney muscles of the test groups. The findings showed that FeO-NPs can be used for the successful treatment of hyperuricemic condition and gouty arthritis in the coming future in place of commercially available medicines.

Rapid Capture of Cancer Extracellular Vesicles by Lipid Patch Microarrays.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain various bioactive molecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, and play a key role in the regulation of cancer progression. Furthermore, cancer-associated EVs carry specific biomarkers and can be used in liquid biopsy for cancer detection. However, it is still technically challenging and time consuming to detect or isolate cancer-associated EVs from complex biofluids (e.g., blood). Here, a novel EV-capture strategy based on dip-pen nanolithography generated microarrays of supported lipid membranes is presented. These arrays carry specific antibodies recognizing EV- and cancer-specific surface biomarkers, enabling highly selective and efficient capture. Importantly, it is shown that the nucleic acid cargo of captured EVs is retained on the lipid array, providing the potential for downstream analysis. Finally, the feasibility of EV capture from patient sera is demonstrated. The demonstrated platform offers rapid capture, high specificity, and sensitivity, with only a small need in analyte volume and without additional purification steps. The platform is applied in context of cancer-associated EVs, but it can easily be adapted to other diagnostic EV targets by use of corresponding antibodies.