Plate-Based High-Throughput Fluorescence Assay for Assessing Enveloped Virus Integrity.

Viruses are a considerable threat to global health and place major burdens on economies worldwide. Manufactured viruses are also being widely used as delivery agents to treat (gene therapies) or prevent diseases (vaccines). Therefore, it is vital to study and fully understand the infectious state of viruses. Current techniques used to study viruses are often slow or nonexistent, making the development of new techniques of paramount importance. Here we present a high-throughput and robust, cell-free plate-based assay (FAIRY: Fluorescence Assay for vIRal IntegritY), capable of differentiating intact from nonintact enveloped viruses, i.e, infectious from noninfectious. Using a thiazole orange-terminated polymer, a 99% increase in fluorescence was observed between treated (heat or virucide) and nontreated. The FAIRY assay allowed for the rapid determination of the infectivity of a range of enveloped viruses, highlighting its potential as a valuable tool for the study of viruses and interventions against them.

Multifunctional Self-Assembled Block Copolymer/Iron Oxide Nanocomposite Hydrogels Formed from Wormlike Micelles.

This article reports the preparation of multifunctional magnetic nanocomposite hydrogels formed from wormlike micelles. Specifically, iron oxide nanoparticles were incorporated into a temperature responsive block copolymer, poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)-b-poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) (PGMA-b-PHPMA), and graphene oxide (GO) dispersion at a low temperature (∼2 °C) through high-speed mixing and returning the mixture to room temperature, resulting in the formation of nanocomposite gels. The optimal concentrations of iron oxide and GO enhanced the gel strength of the nanocomposite gels, which exhibited a strong magnetic response when a magnetic field was applied. These materials retained the thermoresponsiveness of the PGMA-PHPMA wormlike micelles allowing for a solid-to-liquid transition to occur when the temperature was reduced. The mechanical and rheological properties and performance of the nanocomposite gels were demonstrated to be adjustable, making them suitable for a wide range of potential applications. These nanocomposite worm gels were demonstrated to be relatively adhesive and to act as strain and temperature sensors, with the measured electrical resistance of the nanocomposite gels changing with applied strain and temperature sweeps. The nanocomposite gels were found to recover efficiently after the application of high shear with approximately 100% healing efficiency within seconds. Additionally, these nanocomposite worm gels were injectable, and the addition of GO and iron oxide nanomaterials seemed to have no significant adverse impact on the biocompatibility of the copolymer gels, making them suitable not only for 3D printing in nanocomposite engineering but also for potential utilization in various biomedical applications as an injectable magnetic responsive hydrogel.

Bridging Flocculation of a Sterically Stabilized Cationic Latex as a Biosensor for the Detection of Microbial DNA after Amplification via PCR.

There is a high demand for rapid, sensitive, and accurate detection methods for pathogens. This paper demonstrates a method of detecting the presence of amplified DNA from a range of pathogens associated with serious infections including Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and viruses. DNA is amplified using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and consequently detected using a sterically stabilized, cationic polymer latex. The DNA induces flocculation of this cationic latex, which consequently leads to rapid sedimentation and a visible change from a milky-white dispersion to one with a transparent supernatant, presenting a clear visible change, indicating the presence of amplified DNA. Specifically, a number of different pathogens were amplified using conventional or qPCR, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV-2). This method was demonstrated to detect the presence of bacteria in suspension concentrations greater than 380 CFU mL-1 and diagnose the presence of specific genomes through primer selection, as exemplified using methicillin resistant and methicillin susceptible Staphylococcus aureus. The versatility of this methodology was further demonstrated by showing that false positive results do not occur when a PCR of fungal DNA from C. albicans is conducted using bacterial universal primers.

Broad-Spectrum Extracellular Antiviral Properties of Cucurbit[n]urils.

Viruses are microscopic pathogens capable of causing disease and are responsible for a range of human mortalities and morbidities worldwide. They can be rendered harmless or destroyed with a range of antiviral chemical compounds. Cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]s) are a family of macrocycle chemical compounds existing as a range of homologues; due to their structure, they can bind to biological materials, acting as supramolecular "hosts" to "guests", such as amino acids. Due to the increasing need for a nontoxic antiviral compound, we investigated whether cucurbit[n]urils could act in an antiviral manner. We have found that certain cucurbit[n]uril homologues do indeed have an antiviral effect against a range of viruses, including herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2. In particular, we demonstrate that CB[7] is the active homologue of CB[n], having an antiviral effect against enveloped and nonenveloped species. High levels of efficacy were observed with 5 min contact times across different viruses. We also demonstrate that CB[7] acts with an extracellular virucidal mode of action via host-guest supramolecular interactions between viral surface proteins and the CB[n] cavity, rather than via cell internalization or a virustatic mechanism. This finding demonstrates that CB[7] acts as a supramolecular virucidal antiviral (a mechanism distinct from other current extracellular antivirals), demonstrating the potential of supramolecular interactions for future antiviral disinfectants.

Alternative processing of human HTT mRNA with implications for Huntington's disease therapeutics.

Huntington disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene (HTT) that is translated into a polyglutamine stretch in the huntingtin protein (HTT). We previously showed that HTT mRNA carrying an expanded CAG repeat was incompletely spliced to generate HTT1a, an exon 1 only transcript, which was translated to produce the highly aggregation-prone and pathogenic exon 1 HTT protein. This occurred in all knock-in mouse models of Huntington's disease and could be detected in patient cell lines and post-mortem brains. To extend these findings to a model system expressing human HTT, we took advantage of YAC128 mice that are transgenic for a yeast artificial chromosome carrying human HTT with an expanded CAG repeat. We discovered that the HTT1a transcript could be detected throughout the brains of YAC128 mice. We implemented RNAscope to visualize HTT transcripts at the single molecule level and found that full-length HTT and HTT1a were retained together in large nuclear RNA clusters, as well as being present as single transcripts in the cytoplasm. Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence analysis demonstrated that the HTT1a transcript had been translated to produce the exon 1 HTT protein. The levels of exon 1 HTT in YAC128 mice, correlated with HTT aggregation, supportive of the hypothesis that exon 1 HTT initiates the aggregation process. Huntingtin-lowering strategies are a major focus of therapeutic development for Huntington's disease. These approaches often target full-length HTT alone and would not be expected to reduce pathogenic exon 1 HTT levels. We have established YAC128 mouse embryonic fibroblast lines and shown that, together with our QuantiGene multiplex assay, these provide an effective screening tool for agents that target HTT transcripts. The effects of current targeting strategies on nuclear RNA clusters are unknown, structures that may have a pathogenic role or alternatively could be protective by retaining HTT1a in the nucleus and preventing it from being translated. In light of recently halted antisense oligonucleotide trials, it is vital that agents targeting HTT1a are developed, and that the effects of HTT-lowering strategies on the subcellular levels of all HTT transcripts and their various HTT protein isoforms are understood.

Deoxyribonucleic acid polymer nanoparticle hydrogels.

Polymer nanoparticle hydrogels made of deoxyribonucleic acid and silica have been prepared and shown to display shear thinning and self-healing properties, sustained release of cargo and enzymatic degradation.

Electronic and electrochemical viral detection for point-of-care use: A systematic review.

Detecting viruses, which have significant impact on health and the economy, is essential for controlling and combating viral infections. In recent years there has been a focus towards simpler and faster detection methods, specifically through the use of electronic-based detection at the point-of-care. Point-of-care sensors play a particularly important role in the detection of viruses. Tests can be performed in the field or in resource limited regions in a simple manner and short time frame, allowing for rapid treatment. Electronic based detection allows for speed and quantitative detection not otherwise possible at the point-of-care. Such approaches are largely based upon voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, field effect transistors, and similar electrical techniques. Here, we systematically review electronic and electrochemical point-of-care sensors for the detection of human viral pathogens. Using the reported limits of detection and assay times we compare approaches both by detection method and by the target analyte of interest. Compared to recent scoping and narrative reviews, this systematic review which follows established best practice for evidence synthesis adds substantial new evidence on 1) performance and 2) limitations, needed for sensor uptake in the clinical arena. 104 relevant studies were identified by conducting a search of current literature using 7 databases, only including original research articles detecting human viruses and reporting a limit of detection. Detection units were converted to nanomolars where possible in order to compare performance across devices. This approach allows us to identify field effect transistors as having the fastest median response time, and as being the most sensitive, some achieving single-molecule detection. In general, we found that antigens are the quickest targets to detect. We also observe however, that reports are highly variable in their chosen metrics of interest. We suggest that this lack of systematisation across studies may be a major bottleneck in sensor development and translation. Where appropriate, we use the findings of the systematic review to give recommendations for best reporting practice.

Use of high-content imaging to quantify transduction of AAV-PHP viruses in the brain following systemic delivery.

The engineering of the AAV-PHP capsids was an important development for CNS research and the modulation of gene expression in the brain. They cross the blood brain barrier and transduce brain cells after intravenous systemic delivery, a property dependent on the genotype of Ly6a, the AAV-PHP capsid receptor. It is important to determine the transduction efficiency of a given viral preparation, as well as the comparative tropism for different brain cells; however, manual estimation of adeno-associated viral transduction efficiencies can be biased and time consuming. Therefore, we have used the Opera Phenix high-content screening system, equipped with the Harmony processing and analysis software, to reduce bias and develop an automated approach to determining transduction efficiency in the mouse brain. We used R Studio and 'gatepoints' to segment the data captured from coronal brain sections into brain regions of interest. C57BL/6J and CBA/Ca mice were injected with an AAV-PHP.B virus containing a green fluorescent protein reporter with a nuclear localization signal. Coronal sections at 600 µm intervals throughout the entire brain were stained with Hoechst dye, combined with immunofluorescence to NeuN and green fluorescent protein to identify all cell nuclei, neurons and transduced cells, respectively. Automated data analysis was applied to give an estimate of neuronal percentages and transduction efficiencies throughout the entire brain as well as for the cortex, striatum and hippocampus. The data from each coronal section from a given mouse were highly comparable. The percentage of neurons in the C57BL/6J and CBA/Ca brains was approximately 40% and this was higher in the cortex than striatum and hippocampus. The systemic injection of AAV-PHP.B resulted in similar transduction rates across the entire brain for C57BL/6J mice. Approximately 10-15% of all cells were transduced, with neuronal transduction efficiencies ranging from 5% to 15%, estimates that were similar across brain regions, and were in contrast to the much more localized transduction efficiencies achieved through intracerebral injection. We confirmed that the delivery of the AAV-PHP.B viruses to the brain from the vasculature resulted in widespread transduction. Our methodology allows the rapid comparison of transduction rates between brain regions producing comparable data to more time-consuming approaches. The methodology developed here can be applied to the automated quantification of any parameter of interest that can be captured as a fluorescent signal.

MEF2 impairment underlies skeletal muscle atrophy in polyglutamine disease.

Polyglutamine (polyQ) tract expansion leads to proteotoxic misfolding and drives a family of nine diseases. We study spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), a progressive degenerative disorder of the neuromuscular system caused by the polyQ androgen receptor (AR). Using a knock-in mouse model of SBMA, AR113Q mice, we show that E3 ubiquitin ligases which are a hallmark of the canonical muscle atrophy machinery are not induced in AR113Q muscle. Similarly, we find no evidence to suggest dysfunction of signaling pathways that trigger muscle hypertrophy or impairment of the muscle stem cell niche. Instead, we find that skeletal muscle atrophy is characterized by diminished function of the transcriptional regulator Myocyte Enhancer Factor 2 (MEF2), a regulator of myofiber homeostasis. Decreased expression of MEF2 target genes is age- and glutamine tract length-dependent, occurs due to polyQ AR proteotoxicity, and is associated with sequestration of MEF2 into intranuclear inclusions in muscle. Skeletal muscle from R6/2 mice, a model of Huntington disease which develops progressive atrophy, also sequesters MEF2 into inclusions and displays age-dependent loss of MEF2 target genes. Similarly, SBMA patient muscle shows loss of MEF2 target gene expression, and restoring MEF2 activity in AR113Q muscle rescues fiber size and MEF2-regulated gene expression. This work establishes MEF2 impairment as a novel mechanism of skeletal muscle atrophy downstream of toxic polyglutamine proteins and as a therapeutic target for muscle atrophy in these disorders.

Modified cyclodextrins as broad-spectrum antivirals.

Viral infections kill millions of people and new antivirals are needed. Nontoxic drugs that irreversibly inhibit viruses (virucidal) are postulated to be ideal. Unfortunately, all virucidal molecules described to date are cytotoxic. We recently developed nontoxic, broad-spectrum virucidal gold nanoparticles. Here, we develop further the concept and describe cyclodextrins, modified with mercaptoundecane sulfonic acids, to mimic heparan sulfates and to provide the key nontoxic virucidal action. We show that the resulting macromolecules are broad-spectrum, biocompatible, and virucidal at micromolar concentrations in vitro against many viruses [including herpes simplex virus (HSV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), dengue virus, and Zika virus]. They are effective ex vivo against both laboratory and clinical strains of RSV and HSV-2 in respiratory and vaginal tissue culture models, respectively. Additionally, they are effective when administrated in mice before intravaginal HSV-2 inoculation. Lastly, they pass a mutation resistance test that the currently available anti-HSV drug (acyclovir) fails.

Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans and Viral Attachment: True Receptors or Adaptation Bias?

Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG) are composed of unbranched, negatively charged heparan sulfate (HS) polysaccharides attached to a variety of cell surface or extracellular matrix proteins. Widely expressed, they mediate many biological activities, including angiogenesis, blood coagulation, developmental processes, and cell homeostasis. HSPG are highly sulfated and broadly used by a range of pathogens, especially viruses, to attach to the cell surface.

Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic Gold Nanoparticles.

Gold nanoparticles covered with a mixture of 1-octanethiol (OT) and 11-mercapto-1-undecane sulfonic acid (MUS) have been extensively studied because of their interactions with cell membranes, lipid bilayers, and viruses. The hydrophilic ligands make these particles colloidally stable in aqueous solutions and the combination with hydrophobic ligands creates an amphiphilic particle that can be loaded with hydrophobic drugs, fuse with the lipid membranes, and resist nonspecific protein adsorption. Many of these properties depend on nanoparticle size and the composition of the ligand shell. It is, therefore, crucial to have a reproducible synthetic method and reliable characterization techniques that allow the determination of nanoparticle properties and the ligand shell composition. Here, a one-phase chemical reduction, followed by a thorough purification to synthesize these nanoparticles with diameters below 5 nm, is presented. The ratio between the two ligands on the surface of the nanoparticle can be tuned through their stoichiometric ratio used during synthesis. We demonstrate how various routine techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrometry, are combined to comprehensively characterize the physicochemical parameters of the nanoparticles.

Stress Dissipation in Cucurbit[8]uril Ternary Complex Small Molecule Adhesives.

The ability to control supramolecular and macroscopic self-assembly and disassembly holds great potential for responsive, reversible adhesives that can efficiently broker stresses accumulated between two surfaces. Here, cucurbit[8]uril is used to directly adhere two functionalized mica substrates creating surface-surface interactions that are held together through photoreversible CB[8] heteroternary complexes. Comparison of single-molecule, bulk, and macroscopic adhesion behavior give insight into cooperativity and stress dissipation in dynamic adhesive systems.

Broad-spectrum non-toxic antiviral nanoparticles with a virucidal inhibition mechanism.

Viral infections kill millions yearly. Available antiviral drugs are virus-specific and active against a limited panel of human pathogens. There are broad-spectrum substances that prevent the first step of virus-cell interaction by mimicking heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPG), the highly conserved target of viral attachment ligands (VALs). The reversible binding mechanism prevents their use as a drug, because, upon dilution, the inhibition is lost. Known VALs are made of closely packed repeating units, but the aforementioned substances are able to bind only a few of them. We designed antiviral nanoparticles with long and flexible linkers mimicking HSPG, allowing for effective viral association with a binding that we simulate to be strong and multivalent to the VAL repeating units, generating forces (∼190 pN) that eventually lead to irreversible viral deformation. Virucidal assays, electron microscopy images, and molecular dynamics simulations support the proposed mechanism.  These particles show no cytotoxicity, and in vitro nanomolar irreversible activity against herpes simplex virus (HSV), human papilloma virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), dengue and lenti virus. They are active ex vivo in human cervicovaginal histocultures infected by HSV-2 and in vivo in mice infected with RSV.

The Importance of Excess Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) for the Aggregation of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-Coated Gold Nanoparticles.

Thermoresponsive materials are generating significant interest on account of the sharp and tunable temperature deswelling transition of the polymer chain. Such materials have shown promise in drug delivery devices, sensing systems, and self-assembly. Incorporation of nanoparticles (NPs), typically through covalent attachment of the polymer chains to the NP surface, can add additional functionality and tunability to such hybrid materials. The versatility of these thermoresponsive polymer/nanoparticle materials has been shown previously; however, significant and important differences exist in the published literature between virtually identical materials. Here we use poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm)-AuNPs as a model system to understand the aggregation behavior of thermoresponsive polymer-coated nanoparticles in pure water, made by either grafting-to or grafting-from methods. We show that, contrary to popular belief, the aggregation of PNIPAm-coated AuNPs, and likely other such materials, relies on the size and concentration of unbound "free" PNIPAm in solution. It is this unbound polymer that also leads to an increase in solution turbidity, a characteristic that is typically used to prove nanoparticle aggregation. The size of PNIPAm used to coat the AuNPs, as well as the concentration of the resultant polymer-AuNP composites, is shown to have little effect on aggregation. Without free PNIPAm, contraction of the polymer corona in response to increasing temperature is observed, instead of nanoparticle aggregation, and is accompanied by no change in solution turbidity or color. We develop an alternative method for removing all traces of excess free polymer and develop an approach for analyzing the aggregation behavior of such materials, which truly allows for heat-triggered aggregation to be studied.

Simple fluorinated moiety insertion on Aß 16-23 peptide for stain-free TEM imaging.

Peptide aggregation and fibre formation are one of the major underlying causes of several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. During the past decades the characterisation of these fibres has been widely studied in an attempt to further understand the nature of the related diseases and in an effort to develop treatments. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is one of the most commonly used techniques to identify these fibres, but requires the use of a radioactive staining agent. The procedure we report overcomes this drawback through simple addition of a fluorinated moiety to a short Amyloid ß sequence via solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). This method is synthetically straightforward, widely applicable to different aggregation-prone sequences and, above all, allows for stain-free TEM imaging with improved quality compared to standard imaging procedures. The presence of the fluorinated moiety does not cause major changes in the fibre structure or aggregation, but rather serves to dissipate the microscope's electron beam, thus allowing for high contrast and straightforward imaging by TEM.

Gold-oxoborate nanocomposites and their biomedical applications.

A novel inorganic nanocomposite material, called BOA, which has the form of small building blocks composed of gold nanoparticles embedded in a polyoxoborate matrix, is presented. It is demonstrated that cotton wool decorated with the BOA nanocomposite displays strong antibacterial activity toward both Gram-positive and -negative bacteria strains. Importantly, the modified cotton does not release any toxic substances, and the bacteria are killed upon contact with the fibers coated with the BOA. Toxicity tests show that the nanocomposite--in spite of its antiseptic properties--is harmless for mammalian cells. The presented method of surface modification utilizes mild, environmentally friendly fabrication conditions. Thus, it offers a facile approach to obtain durable nontoxic antiseptic coatings for biomedical applications.

Synthesis of Conducting Polymer-Metal Nanoparticle Hybrids Exploiting RAFT Polymerization.

The direct covalent attachment of conducting polymers (CP) to nanoparticles (NP) to form CP-NP nanohybrids is of great interest for optoelectronic device applications. Hybrids formed by covalently anchoring CP to NP, rather than traditional blending or bilayer approaches, is highly desirable. CP-NP nanohybrids have increased interfacial surface area between the two components, facilitating rapid exciton diffusion at the p-n heterojunction. These materials take advantage of the facile solution processability, lightweight characteristics, flexibility, and mechanical strength associated with CPs, and the broad spectral absorption, photostability, and high charge carrier mobility of NPs. We demonstrate the ability to polymerize a hole transporting (HT) polymer utilizing reversible-addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and its subsequent rapid aminolysis to yield a thiol-terminated HT polymer. Subsequent facile attachment to gold (Au) and silver (Ag) NPs and cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs), to form a number of CP-NP systems is demonstrated and characterized. CP-NP nanohybrids show broad spectral absorptions ranging from UV through visible to the near IR, and their facile synthesis and purification could allow for large scale industrial applications.

Gold nanorods with sub-nanometer separation using cucurbit[n]uril for SERS applications.

The capability of cucurbit[n]uril to align gold nanorods, leading to optical coupling into the infrared region, is shown. Cryo-TEM and tomographic imaging confirm the presence of aligned Au nanorods. Full electromagnetic simulations, which support the observed plasmonic modes and predict large enhancements in the inter-particle junction, are performed. This construct is then further utilized for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.