Advances in Nanomaterials and Colorimetric Detection of Arsenic in Water: Review and Future Perspectives.

Arsenic, existing in various chemical forms such as arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)), demands serious attention in water and environmental contexts due to its significant health risks. It is classified as "carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top 10 chemicals posing major public health concerns. This widespread contamination results in millions of people globally being exposed to dangerous levels of arsenic, making it a top priority for the WHO. Chronic arsenic toxicity, known as arsenicosis, presents with specific skin lesions like pigmentation and keratosis, along with systemic manifestations including chronic lung diseases, liver issues, vascular problems, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cancer, often leading to fatal outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to explore novel, cost-effective, and reliable methods with rapid response and improved sensitivities (detection limits). Most of the traditional detection techniques often face limitations in terms of complexity, cost, and the need for sophisticated equipment requiring skilled analysts and procedures, which thereby impedes their practical use, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Colorimetric methods leverage colour changes which are observable and quantifiable using simple instrumentation or even visual inspection. This review explores the colorimetric techniques designed to detect arsenite and arsenate in water. It covers recent developments in colorimetric techniques, and advancements in the role of nanomaterials in colorimetric arsenic detection, followed by discussion on current challenges and future prospects. The review emphasizes efforts to improve sensitivity, selectivity, cost, and portability, as well as the role of advanced materials/nanomaterials to boost the performance of colorimetric assays/sensors towards combatting this pervasive global health concern.

Biosensor-Enhanced Organ-on-a-Chip Models for Investigating Glioblastoma Tumor Microenvironment Dynamics.

Glioblastoma, an aggressive primary brain tumor, poses a significant challenge owing to its dynamic and intricate tumor microenvironment. This review investigates the innovative integration of biosensor-enhanced organ-on-a-chip (OOC) models as a novel strategy for an in-depth exploration of glioblastoma tumor microenvironment dynamics. In recent years, the transformative approach of incorporating biosensors into OOC platforms has enabled real-time monitoring and analysis of cellular behaviors within a controlled microenvironment. Conventional in vitro and in vivo models exhibit inherent limitations in accurately replicating the complex nature of glioblastoma progression. This review addresses the existing research gap by pioneering the integration of biosensor-enhanced OOC models, providing a comprehensive platform for investigating glioblastoma tumor microenvironment dynamics. The applications of this combined approach in studying glioblastoma dynamics are critically scrutinized, emphasizing its potential to bridge the gap between simplistic models and the intricate in vivo conditions. Furthermore, the article discusses the implications of biosensor-enhanced OOC models in elucidating the dynamic features of the tumor microenvironment, encompassing cell migration, proliferation, and interactions. By furnishing real-time insights, these models significantly contribute to unraveling the complex biology of glioblastoma, thereby influencing the development of more accurate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Advances in Diagnostic Tools and Therapeutic Approaches for Gliomas: A Comprehensive Review.

Gliomas, a prevalent category of primary malignant brain tumors, pose formidable clinical challenges due to their invasive nature and limited treatment options. The current therapeutic landscape for gliomas is constrained by a "one-size-fits-all" paradigm, significantly restricting treatment efficacy. Despite the implementation of multimodal therapeutic strategies, survival rates remain disheartening. The conventional treatment approach, involving surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, grapples with substantial limitations, particularly in addressing the invasive nature of gliomas. Conventional diagnostic tools, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), play pivotal roles in outlining tumor characteristics. However, they face limitations, such as poor biological specificity and challenges in distinguishing active tumor regions. The ongoing development of diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches represents a multifaceted and promising frontier in the battle against this challenging brain tumor. The aim of this comprehensive review is to address recent advances in diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches for gliomas. These innovations aim to minimize invasiveness while enabling the precise, multimodal targeting of localized gliomas. Researchers are actively developing new diagnostic tools, such as colorimetric techniques, electrochemical biosensors, optical coherence tomography, reflectometric interference spectroscopy, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and optical biosensors. These tools aim to regulate tumor progression and develop precise treatment methods for gliomas. Recent technological advancements, coupled with bioelectronic sensors, open avenues for new therapeutic modalities, minimizing invasiveness and enabling multimodal targeting with unprecedented precision. The next generation of multimodal therapeutic strategies holds potential for precision medicine, aiding the early detection and effective management of solid brain tumors. These innovations offer promise in adopting precision medicine methodologies, enabling early disease detection, and improving solid brain tumor management. This review comprehensively recognizes the critical role of pioneering therapeutic interventions, holding significant potential to revolutionize brain tumor therapeutics.

Deep hypothermic preservation of autologous skin in the treatment of large-area circumferential multi-plane degloving trauma: a pilot study of 2 cases.

To evaluate the clinical outcome of deep hypothermic preservation of autologous skin in the treatment of large-area skin avulsion. Medium or full thickness-skin slices were harvested from large avulsion flaps between July and November 2017. They were stored in liquid nitrogen by vitrification. After the patient's condition became stable and the growth of the wound granulation tissue was satisfactory, the frozen skin slices were reheated quickly and replanted to the wound. Autologous skin that had been kept by deep cryopreservation had a high survival rate when grafted. It did not create new trauma or bring additional pain to patients. Yet it could shorten the course of treatment and reduce the medical cost for patients. It is an effective and economical way to treat large-area skin avulsion.

Developing Gold Nanoparticles-Conjugated Aflatoxin B1 Antifungal Strips.

Lateral flow immunochromatographic assays are a powerful diagnostic tool for point-of-care tests, based on their simplicity, specificity, and sensitivity. In this study, a rapid and sensitive gold nanoparticle (AuNP) immunochromatographic strip is produced for detecting aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in suspicious fungi-contaminated food samples. The 10 nm AuNPs were encompassed by bovine serum albumin (BSA) and AFB1 antibody. Thin-layer chromatography, gel electrophoresis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were employed for analysing the chemical complexes. Various concentrations of AFB1 antigen (0-16 ng/mL) were tested with AFB1 antibody-BSA-AuNPs (conjugated AuNPs) and then analysed by scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and Zetasizer. The results showed that the AFB1 antibody was coupled to BSA by the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester method. The AuNPs application has the potential to contribute to AFB1 detection by monitoring a visible colour change from red to purple-blue, with a detection limit of 2 ng/mL in a 96-well plate. The lateral flow immunochromatographic strip tests are rapid, taking less than 10 min., and they have a detection capacity of 10 ng/g. The smartphone analysis of strips provided the results in 3 s, with a detection limit of 0.3 ng/g for AFB1 when the concentration was below 10 ng/g. Excellent agreement was found with AFB1 determination by high-performance liquid chromatography in the determination of AFB1 among 20 samples of peanuts, corn, rice, and bread.

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles for detection of fungi and human cutaneous fungal infections.

Fungi, which are common in the environment, can cause a multitude of diseases. Warm, humid conditions allow fungi to grow and infect humans via the respiratory, digestive and reproductive tracts, genital area and other bodily interfaces. Fungi can be detected directly by microscopy, using the potassium hydroxide test, which is the gold standard and most popular method for fungal screening. However, this test requires trained personnel operating specialist equipment, including a fluorescent microscope and culture facilities. As most acutely infected patients seek medical attention within the first few days of symptoms, the optimal diagnostic test would be rapid and self-diagnostic simplifying and improving the therapeutic outcome. In suspensions of gold nanoparticles, Aspergillus niger can cause a colour change from red to blue within 2 min, as a result of changes in nanoparticle shape. A similar colour change was observed in the supernatant of samples of human toenails dispersed in water. Scanning electron microscopy, UV/Vis and Raman spectroscopy were employed to monitor the changes in morphology and surface plasmon resonance of the nanoparticles. The correlation of colour change with the fungal infection was analysed using the absorbance ratio at 520 nm/620 nm. We found a decrease in the ratio when the fungi concentration increased from 1 to 16 CFU/mL, with a detection limit of 10 CFU/mL. The test had an 80% sensitivity and a 95% specificity value for the diagnosis of athlete's foot in human patients. This plasmonic gold nanoparticle-based system for detection of fungal infections measures the change in shape of gold nanoparticles and generates coloured solutions with distinct tonality. Our application has the potential to contribute to self-diagnosis and hygiene control in laboratories/hospitals with fewer resources, just using the naked eye. Graphical abstract Colorimetric method for fungi detection with gold nano particles.

Using PG-Liposome-Based System to Enhance Puerarin Liver-Targeted Therapy for Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease.

A critical issue for alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) therapeutics is the lack of a highly efficient delivery system. In this study, a Puerarin-propylene glycol-liposome system was prepared for the purpose of targeting puerarin, an isoflavon, to the liver. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) results showed the liposomes to be spherical in shape with an average diameter of 182 nm with a polydispersity index of 0.239. The zeta potential of the particles was about -30 mV. The entrapment efficiency of puerarin was above 90%. MTT-based assay in HpeG2 cells showed no significant cytotoxicity in the presence of up to 25% concentration of the system containing 3% puerarin. In vivo performance of this system was studied in mice. Pharmacokinetics and distribution of puerarin-PG-liposome system was studied relative to puerarin solution at the same dose levels. The results show that puerarin-PG-liposome prolonged drug retention time and decreased elimination of puerarin in mice (AUC of liposome system and solution was 9.5 and 4.0 mg h L-1, respectively). Furthermore, propylene glycol (PG)-liposome system enhanced puerarin distribution into liver and spleen, while decreasing puerarin distribution in other tissues. Overall, the puerarin-PG-liposome system showed enhanced therapeutic effect in mice with ALD.

Dual targeted immunotherapy via in vivo delivery of biohybrid RNAi-peptide nanoparticles to tumour-associated macrophages and cancer cells.

Lung cancer is associated with very poor prognosis and considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Here, we present highly potent and selective bio-hybrid RNAi-peptide nanoparticles that can induce specific and long-lasting gene therapy in inflammatory tumour associated macrophages (TAMs), via an immune modulation of the tumour milieu combined with tumour suppressor effects. Our data prove that passive gene silencing can be achieved in cancer cells using regular RNAi NPs. When combined with M2 peptide-based targeted immunotherapy that immuno-modulates TAMs cell-population, a synergistic effect and long-lived tumour eradication can be observed along with increased mice survival. Treatment with low doses of siRNA (ED50 0.0025-0.01 mg/kg) in a multi and long-term dosing system substantially reduced the recruitment of inflammatory TAMs in lung tumour tissue, reduced tumour size (∼95%) and increased animal survival (∼75%) in mice. Our results suggest that it is likely that the combination of silencing important genes in tumour cells and in their supporting immune cells in the tumour microenvironment, such as TAMs, will greatly improve cancer clinical outcomes.

Size dependent translocation and fetal accumulation of gold nanoparticles from maternal blood in the rat.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that nanoparticles (NP) cross epithelial and endothelial body barriers. We hypothesized that gold (Au) NP, once in the blood circulation of pregnant rats, will cross the placental barrier during pregnancy size-dependently and accumulate in the fetal organism by 1. transcellular transport across the hemochorial placenta, 2. transcellular transport across amniotic membranes 3. transport through ~20 nm wide transtrophoblastic channels in a size dependent manner. The three AuNP sizes used to test this hypothesis are either well below, or of similar size or well above the diameters of the transtrophoblastic channels. METHODS: We intravenously injected monodisperse, negatively charged, radio-labelled 1.4 nm, 18 nm and 80 nm ¹98AuNP at a mass dose of 5, 3 and 27 µg/rat, respectively, into pregnant rats on day 18 of gestation and in non-pregnant control rats and studied the biodistribution in a quantitative manner based on the radio-analysis of the stably labelled ¹98AuNP after 24 hours. RESULTS: We observed significant biokinetic differences between pregnant and non-pregnant rats. AuNP fractions in the uterus of pregnant rats were at least one order of magnitude higher for each particle size roughly proportional to the enlarged size and weight of the pregnant uterus. All three sizes of ¹98AuNP were found in the placentas and amniotic fluids with 1.4 nm AuNP fractions being two orders of magnitude higher than those of the larger AuNP on a mass base. In the fetuses, only fractions of 0.0006 (30 ng) and 0.00004 (0.1 ng) of 1.4 nm and 18 nm AuNP, respectively, were detected, but no 80 nm AuNP (<0.000004 (<0.1 ng)). These data show that no AuNP entered the fetuses from amniotic fluids within 24 hours but indicate that AuNP translocation occurs across the placental tissues either through transtrophoblastic channels and/or via transcellular processes. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the translocation of AuNP from maternal blood into the fetus is NP-size dependent which is due to mechanisms involving (1) transport through transtrophoblastic channels - also present in the human placenta - and/or (2) endocytotic and diffusive processes across the placental barrier.

Biogenic Synthesis of Selenium and Copper Oxide Nanoparticles and Inhibitory Effect against Multi-Drug Resistant Biofilm-Forming Bacterial Pathogens.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), caused by microbial infections, has become a major contributor to morbid rates of mortality worldwide and a serious threat to public health. The exponential increase in resistant pathogen strains including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) poses significant hurdles in the health sector due to their greater resistance to traditional treatments and medicines. Efforts to tackle infectious diseases caused by resistant microbes have prompted the development of novel antibacterial agents. Herein, we present selenium and copper oxide monometallic nanoparticles (Se-MMNPs and CuO-MMNPs), characterized using various techniques and evaluated for their antibacterial potential via disc diffusion, determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), antibiofilm, and killing kinetic action. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques confirmed the size-distribution, spherical-shape, stability, elemental composition, and structural aspects of the synthesized nanoparticles. The MIC values of Se-MMNPs and CuO-MMNPs against S. aureus and E. coli were determined to be 125 µg/mL and 100 µg/mL, respectively. Time-kill kinetics studies revealed that CuO-MMNPs efficiently mitigate the growth of S. aureus and E. coli within 3 and 3.5 h while Se-MMNPs took 4 and 5 h, respectively. Moreover, CuO-MMNPs demonstrated better inhibition compared to Se-MMNPs. Overall, the proposed materials exhibited promising antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli pathogens.

Improved empirical mode decomposition method based on amplitude-frequency characteristic of vortex signals.

The vortex flowmeter occupies a vital position in flow measurement with its unique advantages. It is essentially a fluid vibration instrument, and its measurement process is susceptible to interference, which seriously affects measurement accuracy. In particular, at low flow rates, it is an urgent problem to extract vortex signals from the complex noise. Among many signal processing methods, Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is a time-frequency analysis method suitable for nonlinear, non-stationary signals. EMD can adaptively decompose noisy signals into noise and useful signal components arranged from high frequency to low frequency. For the above problems, an innovative, improved EMD method is proposed in this paper. The digital filter is designed according to the amplitude-frequency characteristic of vortex signals. After filtering, the vortex signal is adjusted to a fixed value, and high-frequency noise is filtered. According to the consistency of the filtered signal's amplitude, we design a decomposition stop criterion for EMD to process the output signal of the vortex sensor. This method not only maintains the characteristic of adaptive decomposition in EMD but also completes the automatic extraction of the vortex signal under complex noise. It provides a new comprehensive method for realizing high-precision and anti-interference vortex flowmeters.

Review of Detection Limits for Various Techniques for Bacterial Detection in Food Samples.

Foodborne illnesses can be infectious and dangerous, and most of them are caused by bacteria. Some common food-related bacteria species exist widely in nature and pose a serious threat to both humans and animals; they can cause poisoning, diseases, disabilities and even death. Rapid, reliable and cost-effective methods for bacterial detection are of paramount importance in food safety and environmental monitoring. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) and electrochemical methods have been widely used in food safety and environmental monitoring. In this paper, the recent developments (2013-2023) covering PCR, LFIA and electrochemical methods for various bacterial species (Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli)), considering different food sample types, analytical performances and the reported limit of detection (LOD), are discussed. It was found that the bacteria species and food sample type contributed significantly to the analytical performance and LOD. Detection via LFIA has a higher average LOD (24 CFU/mL) than detection via electrochemical methods (12 CFU/mL) and PCR (6 CFU/mL). Salmonella and E. coli in the Pseudomonadota domain usually have low LODs. LODs are usually lower for detection in fish and eggs. Gold and iron nanoparticles were the most studied in the reported articles for LFIA, and average LODs were 26 CFU/mL and 12 CFU/mL, respectively. The electrochemical method revealed that the average LOD was highest for cyclic voltammetry (CV) at 18 CFU/mL, followed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at 12 CFU/mL and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at 8 CFU/mL. LOD usually decreases when the sample number increases until it remains unchanged. Exponential relations (R2 > 0.95) between LODs of Listeria in milk via LFIA and via the electrochemical method with sample numbers have been obtained. Finally, the review discusses challenges and future perspectives (including the role of nanomaterials/advanced materials) to improve analytical performance for bacterial detection.

Gold nanoprisms as optoacoustic signal nanoamplifiers for in vivo bioimaging of gastrointestinal cancers.

Early detection of cancer greatly increases the chances of a simpler and more effective treatment. Traditional imaging techniques are often limited by shallow penetration, low sensitivity, low specificity, poor spatial resolution or the use of ionizing radiation. Hybrid modalities, like optoacoustic imaging, an emerging molecular imaging modality, contribute to improving most of these limitations. However, this imaging method is hindered by relatively low signal contrast. Here, gold nanoprisms (AuNPrs) are used as signal amplifiers in multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) to visualize gastrointestinal cancer. PEGylated AuNPrs are successfully internalized by HT-29 gastrointestinal cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, the particles show good biocompatibility and exhibit a surface plasmon band centered at 830 nm, a suitable wavelength for optoacoustic imaging purposes. These findings extend well to an in vivo setting, in which mice are injected with PEGylated AuNPrs in order to visualize tumor angiogenesis in gastrointestinal cancer cells. Overall, both our in vitro and in vivo results show that PEGylated AuNPrs have the capacity to penetrate tumors and provide a high-resolution signal amplifier for optoacoustic imaging. The combination of PEGylated AuNPrs and MSOT represents a significant advance for the in vivo imaging of cancers.

pH and NaCl Optimisation to Improve the Stability of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles' Anti-Zearalenone Antibody Conjugates for Immunochromatographic Assay.

The aim of this research is to define optimal conditions to improve the stability of gold and silver nanoparticles' anti-zearalenone antibody conjugates for their utilisation in lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). The Turkevich-Frens method was used to synthesise gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), which were between 10 and 110 nm in diameter. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with a size distribution of 2.5 to 100 nm were synthesised using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. The onset of AuNP and AgNP aggregation occurred at 150 mM and 80 mM NaCl concentrations, respectively. Stable Au and Ag nanoparticle-antibody conjugates were achieved at 1.2 mM of K2CO3 concentration, which corresponds to the pH value of ≈7. Lastly, the highest degree of conjugation between Au and Ag nanoparticles and anti-zearalenone antibodies was at 4 and 6 µg/mL of antibody concentrations. The optimisation of the conjugation conditions can contribute to better stability of nanoparticles and their antibody conjugate and can improve the reproducibility of results of bioreporter molecules in biosensing lateral flow devices.

Surface-Modified Silver Nanoparticles and Their Encapsulation in Liposomes Can Treat MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have emerged as a promising tool for cancer treatment due to their unique physicochemical and biological properties. However, their clinical applications are limited by their potential cytotoxicity caused due to oxidation stress and non-specific cellular uptake pathways. To overcome these barriers, surface modifications of AgNPs have been proposed as an effective strategy to enhance their biocompatibility and specificity toward cancer cells. In this study, AgNPs were synthesised using the chemical reduction method and subsequently conjugated with various capping agents such as Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). Further, this study involves the synthesis of liposomes by using dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine lipid (DPPC) and cholesterol to increase the biocompatibility and bioavailability of AgNPs to MCF-7 breast cancer cells. In vitro, cytotoxicity studies were performed to determine which surface modification method exhibited the highest cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cells, which was determined through the MTT assay. The AgNPs conjugated with BSA exhibited the highest cytotoxicity at the lowest dosage, with an IC50 of 2.5 µL/mL. The BSA-AgNPs induced a dose-dependent rise in cytotoxicity through the enhancement of nucleophilic dissolution of the AgNPs in cancer cells. In comparison, the unmodified AgNPs had an IC50 value of 3.0 µL/mL, while the PVP-modified AgNPs had an IC50 of 4.24 µL/mL. AgNPs encapsulated in liposomes had an IC50 value of 5.08 µL/mL, which shows that the encapsulation of AgNPs in liposomes controls their entry into cancer cells. The findings of this research have provided insights into the potential use of surface-modified AgNPs and liposomal encapsulated AgNPs as novel therapeutic tools to overcome the conventional treatment limitations of breast cancer cells.

Soil organic matter carbon chemistry signatures, hydrophobicity and humification index following land use change in temperate peat soils.

Peatlands play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, storing large amounts of carbon because of a net imbalance between primary production and the microbial decomposition of the organic matter. Nevertheless, peatlands have historically been drained for energy sources (e.g. peat briquettes), forestry, or agriculture - practices that could affect the quality of the soil organic matter (SOM) composition, hydrophobicity and humification index. This study compared the effect of land use change on the quality and composition of peatland organic material in Co-Offaly, Ireland. Specifically, drained and grazing peat (grassland), drained and forest plantation peat (forest plantation), drained and industrial cutaway peat (cutaway bog) and an undrained actively accumulating bog (as a reference for natural peatland) were studied. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to examine the organic matter quality, specifically the degree of decomposition (DDI), carbon chemistry signatures, hydrophobicity and humification index. The ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic group intensities was calculated as the SOM hydrophobicity. In general, there is greater variance in the carbon chemistry signature, such as aliphatic methyl and methylene, C=O stretching of amide groups, aromatic C=C, strong H-bond C=O of conjugated ketones and O-H deformation and C- O stretching of phenolics and secondary alcohols of the peat samples from industrial cutaway bog samples than in the grassland and forest plantation samples. The hydrophobicity and the aromaticity of the soil organic matter (SOM) are significantly impacted by land use changes, with a trend of order active bog > forest plantation > industrial cutaway bog > grassland. A comparison of the degree of decomposition index of the peat from active bog showed a more advanced state of peat degradation in grassland and industrial cutaway bog and, to a lesser extent, in forest plantation.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Analysis of Uric Acid and Hypoxanthine Analysis in Fractionated Bodily Fluids.

In recent years, the disease burden of hyperuricemia has been increasing, especially in high-income countries and the economically developing world with a Western lifestyle. Abnormal levels of uric acid and hypoxanthine are associated with many diseases, and therefore, to demonstrate improved methods of uric acid and hypoxanthine detection, three different bodily fluids were analysed using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Gold nanostar suspensions were mixed with series dilutions of uric acid and hypoxanthine, 3 kDa centrifugally filtered human blood serum, urine and saliva. The results show that gold nanostars enable the quantitative detection of the concentration of uric acid and hypoxanthine in the range 5-50 µg/mL and 50-250 ng/mL, respectively. The peak areas of HPLC and maximum peak intensity of SERS have strongly correlated, notably with the peaks of uric acid and hypoxanthine at 1000 and 640 cm-1, respectively. The r2 is 0.975 and 0.959 for uric acid and hypoxanthine, respectively. Each of the three body fluids has a number of spectral features in common with uric acid and hypoxanthine. The large overlap of the spectral bands of the SERS of uric acid against three body fluids at spectra peaks were at 442, 712, 802, 1000, 1086, 1206, 1343, 1436 and 1560 cm-1. The features at 560, 640, 803, 1206, 1290 and 1620 cm-1 from hypoxanthine were common to serum, saliva and urine. There is no statistical difference between HPLC and SERS for determination of the concentration of uric acid and hypoxanthine (p > 0.05). For clinical applications, 3 kDa centrifugal filtration followed by SERS can be used for uric acid and hypoxanthine screening is, which can be used to reveal the subtle abnormalities enhancing the great potential of vibrational spectroscopy as an analytical tool. Our work supports the hypnosis that it is possible to obtain the specific concentration of uric acid and hypoxanthine by comparing the SER signals of serum, saliva and urine. In the future, the analysis of other biofluids can be employed to detect biomarkers for the diagnosis of systemic pathologies.

Hydrogel on a Smart Nanomaterial Interface to Carry Therapeutics for Digitalized Glioma Treatment.

Glioma is considered the primary brain tumor to cause brain illnesses, and it is difficult to treat and shows resistance to various routine therapeutics. The most common treatments to cure glioma are the surgical removal of tumors followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The latest biocompatible interfaces have been incorporated into therapeutic modalities such as the targeted delivery of drugs using hydrogels to treat and manage brain glioma. This review illustrates the applications of the multimodal hydrogel as the carrier of therapeutics, gene therapy, therapeutic tactics, and glioma devices. The scientific articles were retrieved from 2019 to 2022 on Google Scholar and the Scopus database and screened to determine whether they were suitable for review. The 20 articles that fit the study are summarized in this review. These studies indicated that the sizes of the hydrogel range from 28 nm to 500 nm. There are 16 out of 20 articles that also explain the post-surgical application of hydrogels, and 13 out of 20 articles are employed in 3D culture and other structural manifestations of hydrogels. The pros of the hydrogel include the quick formulation for a sufficient filling of irregular damage sites, solubilizing hydrophobic drugs, continuously slowing drug release, provision of a 3D cell growth environment, improving efficacy, targetability of soluble biomolecules, increasing patient compliance, and decreased side effects. The cons of the hydrogel include difficult real-time monitoring, genetic manipulations, the cumbersome synchronized release of components, and lack of safety data. The prospects of the hydrogel may include the development of electronic hydrogel sensors that can be used to enhance guidance for the precise targeting patterns using patient-specific pathological idiosyncrasies. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the precision medicine approaches that would aid in the early detection and management of solid brain tumors.

Short-term but not long-term perennial mugwort cropping increases soil organic carbon in Northern China Plain.

Perennial cropping has been an alternative land use type due to its widely accepted role in increasing soil carbon sequestration. However, how soil organic carbon (SOC) changes and its underlying mechanisms under different cropping years are still elusive. A chronosequence (0-, 3-, 6-, 20-year) of perennial mugwort cropping was chosen to explore the SOC dynamics and the underlying mechanisms in agricultural soils of Northern China Plain. The results revealed that SOC first increased and then decreased along the 20-year chronosequence. The similar patterns were also found in soil properties (including soil ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen and phosphorus) and two C-degrading hydrolytic enzyme activities (i.e., α-glucosidase and ß-glucosidase). The path analysis demonstrated that soil ammonium nitrogen, total nitrogen, and plant biomass affected SOC primarily through the indirect impacts on soil pH, total phosphorus availability, and C-degrading hydrolytic enzyme activities. In addition, the contributions of soil properties are greater than those of biotic factors (plant biomass) to changes in SOC across the four mugwort cropping years. Nevertheless, the biotic factors may play more important roles in regulating SOC than abiotic factors in the long run. Moreover, SOC reached its maximum and was equaled to that under the conventional rotation when cropping mugwort for 7.44 and 14.88 years, respectively, which has critical implications for sustainable C sequestration of agricultural soils in Northern China Plain. Our observations suggest that short-term but not long-term perennial mugwort cropping is an alternative practice benefiting soil C sequestration and achieving the Carbon Neutrality goal in China.

Design and Development of Magnetic Iron Core Gold Nanoparticle-Based Fluorescent Multiplex Assay to Detect Salmonella.

Salmonella is a bacterial pathogen which is one of the leading causes of severe illnesses in humans. The current study involved the design and development of two methods, respectively using iron oxide nanoparticle (IONP) and iron core gold nanoparticle (ICGNP), conjugated with the Salmonella antibody and the fluorophore, 4-Methylumbelliferyl Caprylate (4-MUCAP), used as an indicator, for its selective and sensitive detection in contaminated food products. Twenty double-blind beverage samples, spiked with Salmonella enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, were prepared in sterile Eppendorf® tubes at room temperature. The gold layer and spikes of ICGNPs increased the surface areas. The ratio of the surface area is 0.76 (IONPs/ICGNPs). The comparative sensitivity and specificity of the IONP-based and the ICGNP-based methods to detect Salmonella were determined. The ICGNP method shows the limit of detection is 32 Salmonella per mL. The ICGNPs had an 83.3% sensitivity and a 92.9% specificity value for the presence and detection of Salmonella. The IONP method resulted in a limit of detection of 150 Salmonella per mL, and a 66.7% sensitivity and 83.3% specificity for the presence and detection of Salmonella. The higher surface area of ICGNPs increases the efficiency of detection. The monitoring of Salmonella can thus be achieved by a rapid magnetic fluorescent assay using a smartphone for image capture and analyze, providing quantitative results. The findings from the present study would help to detect Salmonella rapidly in water. It can improve the microbial quality of water and food safety due to the presence of Salmonella in the water environment.