An immunochromatographic strip sensor for rapid and sensitive detection of candesartan, olmesartan medoxomil, and irbesartan in herbal beverages.

Sartans, as a class of antihypertensive drugs, pose a threat to human health when illegally added to herbal beverages. It is crucial to detect sartans in herbal beverages. We have developed a highly sensitive monoclonal antibody against candesartan (CAN), olmesartan medoxomil (OLM), and irbesartan (IRB), with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) that were obtained via indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) as 0.178 ng mL-1, 0.185 ng mL-1, and 0.262 ng mL-1 against CAN, OLM, and IRB, respectively. Based on this monoclonal antibody, we developed a rapid screening method for CAN, OLM, and IRB in herbal beverage samples using an immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip. Test for 15 minutes after simple and rapid sample pre-treatment and the results of this method can be obtained through naked eye observation. The detection limits (LODs) of the ICA strip for CAN, OLM, and IRB in herbal beverage samples are lower than 0.15 ng mL-1, and the results of the ICA strip and ic-ELISA are consistent in spiked samples and recovery experiments. Therefore, this method can quickly, efficiently, and reliably achieve high-throughput on-site rapid detection of illegally added CAN, OLM, and IRB in herbal beverages.

Immunological strip sensor for the rapid determination of niacin in dietary supplements and foods.

Herein, four haptens of niacin (Vitamin B3, VB3) were designed, and after a series of experiments, it was concluded that hapten D had the best immune effect. To avoid false positives in the detection of real samples, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against VB3 was prepared by a matrix effect-enhanced mAb screening method. The concentration of the inhibition rate reaching 50% (IC50) was 603.41 ng mL-1 and the limit of detection (LOD) using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) was 54.89 ng mL-1. A lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) based on gold nanoparticles was established to detect the concentration of VB3 in compound vitamin B tablets and infant formulas, with a visual LOD of 5 µg mL-1. Using a handheld reader, the quantitative LOD was calculated to be 0.60 µg mL-1. The contents of the compound vitamin B tablets and infant formulas were also verified by liquid chromatography. Therefore, the LFIA developed in this study can be applied to the specific identification and rapid detection of niacin in nutritional dietary supplements, thus meeting the market's demand for efficient niacin detection methods.

Chiral Se@CeO2 superparticles for ameliorating Parkinson's disease.

In this study, we prepare chiral D-/L-type Se@CeO2 superparticles (D-/L-SPs) with a g-factor of 0.018 using D-/L-cysteine as chiral ligands. The chiral SPs demonstrate ultra-high enzyme activity of peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Due to the synergistic effect between Se and CeO2, the maximum initial velocity of GPx, CAT, and POD for L-SP is 10, 7, and 5.6 times higher than that of a mixture of Se nanoparticles (NPs) and CeO2 NPs. Significantly, the chiral L-SPs show much stronger ROS scavenging ability than D-SP in the PD-like cell model. Moreover, the amount of α-synuclein (α-syn) in the cerebrospinal fluid of PD mice is reduced by 70.7% within two weeks. The L-SPs effectively alleviate neurodegeneration in a mouse model of PD, showing potential applications in the clinical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Circularly Polarized Light-Enabled Chiral Nanomaterials: From Fabrication to Application.

For decades, chiral nanomaterials have been extensively studied because of their extraordinary properties. Chiral nanostructures have attracted a lot of interest because of their potential applications including biosensing, asymmetric catalysis, optical devices, and negative index materials. Circularly polarized light (CPL) is the most attractive source for chirality owing to its high availability, and now it has been used as a chiral source for the preparation of chiral matter. In this review, the recent progress in the field of CPL-enabled chiral nanomaterials is summarized. Firstly, the recent advancements in the fabrication of chiral materials using circularly polarized light are described, focusing on the unique strategies. Secondly, an overview of the potential applications of chiral nanomaterials driven by CPL is provided, with a particular emphasis on biosensing, catalysis, and phototherapy. Finally, a perspective on the challenges in the field of CPL-enabled chiral nanomaterials is given.

Rapid and sensitive detection of tert-butylhydroquinone in soybean oil using a gold-based paper sensor.

tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) residues in foods pose a threat to human health. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a rapid method for TBHQ detection. In this study, a sensitive monoclonal antibody 5C3 (IgG2a subclass) against TBHQ was produced. It possessed a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 7.43 ng mL-1. A gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic assay (ICA) was established for the rapid and sensitive screening of TBHQ in soybean oil. Qualitative analysis results were obtained within 10 min and observed with the naked eye. The visual limit of detection (LOD) was 50 ng g-1 and the cut-off value was 1000 ng g-1. A hand-held strip reader was used for quantitative analysis, in which the calculated LOD was defined as 18.68 ng g-1. The average recoveries of TBHQ ranged from 89.55% ± 2.70% to 100.66% ± 3.02% for soybean oil, with a coefficient of variation of 2.89%-7.05%. Therefore, our developed ICA is a useful tool for the rapid and on-site detection of TBHQ in real food samples.

Rapid and sensitive detection of clomazone in potato and pumpkin samples using a gold nanoparticle-based lateral-flow strip.

In this study, an ultrasensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) was produced and used to develop a gold nanoparticle-based lateral flow immunochromatographic (ICA) strip for screening of clomazone (CLO) in potato and pumpkin samples. With assayed by indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) method, the mAb belonging of IgG2 subclass showed a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 3.47 ng/mL and a linear range of detection of 0.43-28.09 ng/mL. A cross-reactivity test revealed that the mAb had good specificity for CLO. The strip assay had a visual limit of detection (LOD) of 5 µg/kg and a cut-off value of 50 µg/kg for CLO pumpkin samples (potato samples was 100 µg/kg) when evaluated with the naked eye. The results were consistent with ic-ELISA and high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Thus, this ICA strip assay represents a potentially tool for on-site and rapid initial detection of CLO in potato and pumpkin samples.

A paper-based sensor for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of ibuprofen in water and herbal tea.

As the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) increases, their side effects have also attracted attention. Ibuprofen is one of the most widely-used NSAIDs. In this study, we screened the highly-sensitive and specific antibody 6E10, with an IC50 of 1.92 ng mL-1, and a linear range of 0.53-6.97 ng mL-1. In this study, we developed a rapid lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip method to detect ibuprofen in water or herbal tea. The cut-off limit of the strip is 10 ng mL-1 in water, and concentrations as low as 1 ng mL-1 can be detected in herbal tea samples, with the results obtained by the naked eye within 6 min. All the data were confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time of flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC-QTOF-MS). This lateral-flow ICA strip is thus a rapid tool for on-site detection and screening of ibuprofen in water and herbal tea.

Development of an Immunoassay for the Detection of Copper Residues in Pork Tissues.

The presence of high concentrations of copper (Cu) residues in pork is highly concerning and therefore, this study was designed to develop a high-throughput immunoassay for the detection of such residues in edible pork tissues. The Cu content in the pork samples after digestion with HNO3 and H2O2 was measured using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against a Cu (II)-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) complex. The resulting solution was neutralized using NaOH at pH 7 and the free metal ions in the solution were chelated with EDTA for the immunoassay detection. An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) method was developed for Cu ion analysis. The half maximal inhibitory concentration of the mAb against Cu (II)-EDTA was 5.36 ng/mL, the linear detection range varied between 1.30 and 27.0 ng/mL, the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.43 µg/kg, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 1.42 µg/kg. The performances of the immunoassay were evaluated using fortified pig serum, liver, and pork samples and had a recovery rate of 94.53-102.24%. Importantly, the proposed immunoassay was compared with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) to measure its performance. The detection correlation coefficients of the three types of samples (serum, pork, and liver) were 0.967, 0.976, and 0.983, respectively. Thirty pork samples and six pig liver samples were collected from local markets and Cu was detected with the proposed ic-ELISA. The Cu content was found to be 37.31~85.36 µg/kg in pork samples and 1.04-1.9 mg/kg in liver samples. Furthermore, we detected the Cu content in pigs with feed supplemented with tribasic copper chloride (TBCC) and copper sulfate (CS) (60, 110, and 210 mg/kg in feed). There was no significant difference in Cu accumulation in pork tissues between the TBCC and CS groups, while a remarkable Cu accumulation was found for the CS group in liver at 210 mg/kg, representing more than a two-fold higher level than seen in the TBCC group. Therefore, the proposed immunoassay was found to be robust and sensitive for the detection of Cu, providing a cost effective and practical tool for its detection in food and other complicated samples.

A gold-based strip sensor for the detection of benzo[a]pyrene in edible oils.

This report describes the development of a sensitive and broadly specific indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) and a gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic strip (GNP-ICS) assay for the detection of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), using an anti-B[a]P monoclonal antibody (mAb). A broad-specific anti-B[a]P mAb (4E8) was raised from two types of haptens, with half maximal inhibitory concentrations and limits of detection (LOD) values of 2.51 and 0.54 ng mL-1, respectively. In addition, the cross-reactivity was up to 390% with structurally related compounds. The GNP-ICS assay based on a GNP-labeled mAb showed broad specificity in the detection of B[a]P and its analogues, with cut-off and visual LOD values of 100 and 10 ng mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, the recoveries from the developed icELISA and GNP-ICS assay in edible oil samples spiked with B[a]P were validated by high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection. The results revealed that the icELISA could reliably detect B[a]P in edible oils.

Dual-Modal FexCuySe and Upconversion Nanoparticle Assemblies for Intracellular MicroRNA-21 Detection.

In situ quantification and imaging of low-level intracellular microRNAs (miRs) are important areas in biosensor research. Herein, DNA-driven FexCuySe@upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) core@satellite nanostructures were developed to probe microRNA-21 (miR-21). FexCuySe@UCNP probes displayed dual signals: upconversion luminescence (UCL) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the presence of miR-21, the luminescence signal was restored and the T2 value was significantly increased because of dissociation of UCNPs from the assemblies. There was a good linear relationship between the dual signals and the expression levels of miR-21 in the range of 0.035-31.824 amol/ngRNA. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.0058 amol/ngRNA for the luminescence intensity and 0.0182 amol/ngRNA for the MRI signal. This method opens a new avenue for intracellular miR-21 detection with high sensitivity and specificity.

Fluorescence based immunochromatographic sensor for rapid and sensitive detection of tadalafil and comparison with a gold lateral flow immunoassay.

Tadalafil (TDL) is an illegal additive drug found in drinks and functional foods that could threaten public health. There was a great concern whether the adulteration occurred in coffee added with similar type of herbs. Here we have developed a rapid, simple, sensitive, and semi-quantitative lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) based on gold and fluorescence labelled monoclonal antibody (mAb) for detection of TDL in coffee sample. Under optimal conditions, the cut off limits using gold nanoparticles labelled mAb (GLM) was found to be 250 ng/mL and 100 ng mL using fluorescent labelled mAb (FLM) in coffee samples. The coffee samples were spiked with TDL, and the LFIA with GLM gave average recoveries of 92-105.3% (intra-assay) and 96.6-105.9% (inter-assay), meanwhile with FLM gave recoveries 97.9-107.3% (intra-assay) and 98.3-108.9% (inter-assay). Results gave LFIA with FLM more sensitive than with GLM and all the test can be completed within 10 min, which would be an option for convenient and rapid assay of TDL detection.

Light-Induced Chiral Iron Copper Selenide Nanoparticles Prevent ß-Amyloidopathy In†Vivo.

The accumulation and deposition of ß-amyloid (Aß) plaques in the brain is considered a potential pathogenic mechanism underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD). Chiral l/d-Fex Cuy Se nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated that interfer with the self-assembly of Aß42 monomers and trigger the Aß42 fibrils in dense structures to become looser monomers under 808 nm near-infrared (NIR) illumination. d-Fex Cuy Se NPs have a much higher affinity for Aß42 fibrils than l-Fex Cuy Se NPs and chiral Cu2-x Se NPs. The chiral Fex Cuy Se NPs also generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) than chiral Cu2-x Se NPs under NIR-light irradiation. In living MN9D cells, d-NPs attenuate the adhesion of Aß42 to membranes and neuron loss after NIR treatment within 10 min without the photothermal effect. In-vivo experiments showed that d-Fex Cuy Se NPs provide an efficient protection against neuronal damage induced by the deposition of Aß42 and alleviate symptoms in a mouse model of AD, leading to the recovery of cognitive competence.

High-sensitivity immunochromatographic assay for fumonisin B1 based on indirect antibody labeling.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a high-sensitivity immunochromatographic test for fumonisin B1 in plant extracts. RESULTS: Unlike conventional immunochromatographic tests, this assay is performed in two stages: competitive reaction with free specific antibodies and identifying immune complexes by their interaction with the anti-species antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles. The use of a new geometry for the test strip membranes and a novel reagent application method ensures the proper order of these stages without additional manipulations. The contact of the ready-to-use test strip with the liquid sample suffices in initiating all stages of the assay and obtaining test results. The developed test was used on corn extracts; its instrumental limit of fumonisin B1 detection was 0.6 ng ml-1 at 15 min of assay duration. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed approach is flexible and can be used for a wide range of low molecular compounds. The use of anti-species antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles in immunochromatography significantly facilitates the development of test systems by eliminating the need to synthesize and characterize the conjugates with specific antibodies for each new compound to be detected.

A self-assembled chiral-aptasensor for ATP activity detection.

Circular dichroism (CD) has allowed the construction of various chiral nanomaterials for different applications, including biosensing. However, the determination of a simple target-specific, economical, and biocompatible platform using CD with intracellular detection and in situ molecular probing is still required. Here, we show that a DNA zip-fastener structure self-assembled chiral-aptasensor based on gold nanoparticle heterodimers provided an outstanding capability to quantify adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) by addition. The conjugation of two ATP molecules to an adenosine aptamer allowed the formation of a stable ring structure, which formed an ATP-ring adhesive scaffold upon interaction with DNA complementary sequences linked with large gold nanoparticles, the latter were able to drop and result in a decrease in CD signal. We also showed that these low-cytotoxicity and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-steady nanoconjugates were also a one-step incubation technique for the quantification and monitoring of ATP in living cells modified by cell penetrating peptides (TAT) or Cy5. The results showed that the linear intracellular detection range was from 1.5 to 4.2 mM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 mM. Our findings suggest that this chiroplasmonic sensor is a promising approach for investigating biogenic biomolecules inside cells and living organisms and for assessing their biological activity.

Hierarchical Plasmonic Nanorods and Upconversion Core-Satellite Nanoassemblies for Multimodal Imaging-Guided Combination Phototherapy.

DNA-driven hierarchical core-satellite nanostructures with plasmonic gold nanorod dimers and upconversion nanoparticles are fabricated. Once the core-satellite structure is activated, combined photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy are carried out under the guidance of upconversion luminesce, T1 -weighted magnetic resonance, photoacoustics, and computed tomography imaging of tumors in vivo, which exhibit the multifunctional biological applications of the DNA-based self-assemblies.

Development of a monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA for peanut allergen Ara h 1 in food.

We have established a highly sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on two monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to measure the content of the major peanut allergen Ara h 1 in foods. Two mAbs were selected out of 12 murine hybridoma cells secreting Ara h 1-specific antibody. Using mAb 6 as the capture antibody and HRP-labelled mAb 4 as the detection antibody, the limit of detection (LOD) the assay was 0.34 ng/mL. Cross-reaction analysis showed that this method was strongly specific and had no cross-reactions with Ara h 2, pea protein or soy protein. Sample analysis showed that this ELISA was a useful tool to monitor peanut allergens in food products by measuring Ara h 1 content.

Simultaneous determination of 16 pyrethroid residues in tea samples using gas chromatography and ion trap mass spectrometry.

Pyrethroids are widely used in tea production, and pesticide residues in brewed tea are becoming a major issue. Thus, an appropriate control method of pyrethroid residues in tea samples has to be developed and used to reduce the potential health hazard from consumption of pyrethroids. A method is described here for the simultaneous determination of 16 pyrethroid residues in tea samples. The insecticides were extracted using acetone and then underwent cleanup through a florisil column. Analysis was performed by gas chromatography with ion trap mass spectrometry (GC IT-MS) in MS MS mode. Retention time and specific ions were used for identification. Recoveries at spiked levels (0.001-0.2 µg/g) for the 16 pyrethroids ranged from 71.3% to 106.3%, and the coefficient of variation was less than 17% in each case. The limits of detection were from 0.001 to 0.05 µg/g. The proposed method was successfully applied to determine pyrethroid residues in 25 brewed made tea samples. It was found that there were bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, lamda-cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, dicofol, fenpropathrin, fenvalerate, fluvalinate, and tetramethrin residues in different samples with levels ranging from 1.18-3071.29 µg/kg.

Multifunctional magnetoplasmonic nanoparticle assemblies for cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics).

In this work, we describe the preparation and biomedical functionalities of complex nanoparticle assemblies with magnetoplasmonic properties suitable for simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnostics (theranostics). Most commonly magnetoplasmonic nanostructures are made by careful adaptation of metal reduction protocols which is both tedious and restrictive. Here we apply the strategy of nanoscale assemblies to prepare such systems from individual building blocks. The prepared superstructures are based on magnetic Fe(3) O(4) nanoparticles encapsulated in silica shell representing the magnetic module. The cores are surrounded in a corona-like fashion by gold nanoparticles representing the plasmonic module. As additional functionality they were also coated by poly(ethyleneglycol) chains as a cloaking agent to extend the blood circulation time. The preparation is exceptionally simple and allows one to vary the contribution of each function. Both modules can carry drugs and, in this study, they were loaded with the potential anticancer drug curcumin. A comprehensive set of microscopy, spectroscopy and biochemical methods were applied to characterize both imaging and therapeutic function of the nanoparticle assemblies against leukemia HL-60 cells. High contrast magnetic resonance images and high apoptosis rates demonstrate the success of assembly approach for the preparation of magnetoplasmonic nanoparticles. This technology allows one to easily "dial in" the functionalities in the clinical setting for personalized theranostic regiments.