Brain local stability and network flexibility of table tennis players: a 7T MRI study.

Table tennis players have adaptive visual and sensorimotor networks, which are the key brain regions to acquire environmental information and generate motor output. This study examined 20 table tennis players and 21 control subjects through ultrahigh field 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. First, we measured percentage amplitude of fluctuation across five different frequency bands and found that table tennis players had significantly lower percentage amplitude of fluctuation values than control subjects in 18 brain regions, suggesting enhanced stability of spontaneous brain fluctuation amplitudes in visual and sensorimotor networks. Functional connectional analyses revealed increased static functional connectivity between two sensorimotor nodes and other frontal-parietal regions among table tennis players. Additionally, these players displayed enhanced dynamic functional connectivity coupled with reduced static connectivity between five nodes processing visual and sensory information input, and other large-scale cross-regional areas. These findings highlight that table tennis players undergo neural adaptability through a dual mechanism, characterized by global stability in spontaneous brain fluctuation amplitudes and heightened flexibility in visual sensory networks. Our study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of neural adaptability in athletes, providing a foundation for future efforts to enhance cognitive functions in diverse populations, such as athletes, older adults, and individuals with cognitive impairments.

The relationship between ablation range and ablation energy in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a comparison between microwave ablation and laser ablation.

OBJECTIVES: To study the relationship between the ablation range and applied energy of laser ablation (LA) and microwave ablation (MWA) in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). METHODS: A total of 201 PTMC patients were treated with LA (n = 102) or MWA (n = 99) with single-applicator fixed ablation. The ablation range was determined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound. The ratios of ablation volume, longitudinal diameter, and orthogonal diameter to ablation energy (RAV/E, RAL/E, RAO/E) were analyzed and compared between MWA and LA. The effects of PTMC characteristics and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) on ablation efficiency were evaluated by linear regression. RESULTS: The RAV/E was 0.72 (0.65-0.84) mm3/J for MWA and 0.48 (0.39-0.54) mm3/J for LA. HT was significantly correlated with RAV/E of LA (coefficient = - 0.367, p < 0.0001). RAL/E did not differ significantly between MWA and LA (MWA 0.026 mm/J, LA 0.025 mm/J; p = 0.957). However, MWA had a greater RAO/E than LA (MWA 0.014 mm/J, LA 0.012 mm/J; p < 0.0001). The plateau values of MWA and LA on the ablation orthogonal diameter were 10.7 mm and 8.69 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: MWA showed a higher RAV/E than LA. More intuitively, MWA had a better ablation performance than LA on the orthogonal axis rather than the longitudinal axis. Theoretically, MWA and LA could achieve complete ablation of ≤ 6.70 mm and ≤ 4.69 mm PTMC separately by single-applicator fixed ablation considering a unilateral 2-mm safe margin. HT had a negative effect on LA but not on MWA. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study establishes strong connections between ablation energy and ablation range in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) in vivo, possibly contributing to the supplementation of the PTMC Ablation Consensus or Guidelines and providing a scientific basis for choosing clinical ablation parameters in PTMC. KEY POINTS: • Both microwave ablation (MWA) and laser ablation (LA) have excellent performance on the ablation longitudinal axis (easily exceeding 10 mm) for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). • MWA performed much better than LA on the ablation orthogonal axis. • MWA and LA are expected to achieve complete ablation of ≤ 6.70 mm and ≤ 4.69 mm PTMC separately by single-applicator fixed ablation considering a unilateral 2-mm safe margin.

LIFU/MMP-2 dual-responsive release of repurposed drug disulfiram from nanodroplets for inhibiting vasculogenic mimicry and lung metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Vasculogenic mimicry (VM), when microvascular channels are formed by cancer cells independent of endothelial cells, often occurs in deep hypoxic areas of tumors and contributes to the aggressiveness and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells. However, well-developed VM inhibitors exhibit inadequate efficacy due to their low drug utilization rate and limited deep penetration. Thus, a cost-effective VM inhibition strategy needs to be designed for TNBC treatment. RESULTS: Herein, we designed a low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) dual-responsive nanoplatform termed PFP@PDM-PEG for the cost-effective and efficient utilization of the drug disulfiram (DSF) as a VM inhibitor. The PFP@PDM-PEG nanodroplets effectively penetrated tumors and exhibited substantial accumulation facilitated by PEG deshielding in a LIFU-mediated and MMP-2-sensitive manner. Furthermore, upon exposure to LIFU irradiation, DSF was released controllably under ultrasound imaging guidance. This secure and controllable dual-response DSF delivery platform reduced VM formation by inhibiting COL1/pro-MMP-2 activity, thereby significantly inhibiting tumor progression and metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the safety of the raw materials, controlled treatment process, and reliable repurposing of DSF, this dual-responsive nanoplatform represents a novel and effective VM-based therapeutic strategy for TNBC in clinical settings.

Interaction Between Microbubbles and Microwave Ablation: A Phantom and Rabbit Model.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the interactions between microbubbles and microwave ablation (MWA). METHODS: The study employed custom-made phantoms (in vitro) and white New Zealand rabbits (in vivo). MWA was performed with or without microbubbles in the phantoms (2 × 105 particles mL-1) and rabbit livers (intravenous injection of 0.05 mL/kg SonoVue). During the MWA, K-type thermocouple probes were used to monitor the MWA-induced temperature increase. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging (CEUS) was used to monitor and analyze the microbubbles signal intensity. After MWA, the ablation-zone volumes were evaluated and compared between the groups with and without microbubbles. RESULTS: In both the phantom models and rabbits, microbubbles showed no significant influence on MWA, including the ablation range and MWA-induced temperature increase. In phantoms and rabbit livers filled with microbubbles, MWA caused the formation of a gradually expanding microbubble-defect region over the ablation time. An increase in the temperature caused microbubble destruction. CONCLUSIONS: Microbubbles had no significant influence on MWA. However, MWA induced the destruction of microbubbles in a temperature-dependent manner. Thus, the poor thermotolerance of microbubbles is a non-negligible barrier when using CEUS to monitor the ablation range during MWA in real-time.

Glycosylation in the tumor immune response: the bitter side of sweetness.

Glycosylation is the most structurally diverse form of post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins that affects a myriad of cellular processes. As a pivotal regulator of protein homeostasis, glycosylation notably impacts the function of proteins, spanning from protein localization and stability to protein-protein interactions. Aberrant glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer, and extensive studies have revealed the multifaceted roles of glycosylation in tumor growth, migration, invasion and immune escape Over the past decade, glycosylation has emerged as an immune regulator in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we summarize the intricate interplay between glycosylation and the immune system documented in recent literature, which orchestrates the regulation of the tumor immune response through endogenous lectins, immune checkpoints and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the TME. In addition, we discuss the latest progress in glycan-based cancer immunotherapy. This review provides a basic understanding of glycosylation in the tumor immune response and a theoretical framework for tumor immunotherapy.

Dual-Mode Gold Nanocluster-Based Nanoprobe Platform for Two-Photon Fluorescence Imaging and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging of Intracellular Endogenous miRNA.

Bioimaging is widely used in various fields of modern medicine. Fluorescence imaging has the advantages of high sensitivity, high selectivity, noninvasiveness, in situ imaging, and so on. However, one-photon (OP) fluorescence imaging has problems, such as low tissue penetration depth and low spatiotemporal resolution. These disadvantages can be solved by two-photon (TP) fluorescence imaging. However, TP imaging still uses fluorescence intensity as a signal. The complexity of organisms will inevitably affect the change of fluorescence intensity, cause false-positive signals, and affect the accuracy of the results obtained. Fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) is different from other kinds of fluorescence imaging, which is an intrinsic property of the material and independent of the material concentration and fluorescence intensity. FLIM can effectively avoid the fluctuation of TP imaging based on fluorescence intensity and the interference of autofluorescence. Therefore, based on silica-coated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs@SiO2) combined with nucleic acid probes, the dual-mode nanoprobe platform was constructed for TP and FLIM imaging of intracellular endogenous miRNA-21 for the first time. First, the dual-mode nanoprobe used a dual fluorescence quencher of BHQ2 and graphene oxide (GO), which has a high signal-to-noise ratio and anti-interference. Second, the dual-mode nanoprobe can detect miR-21 with high sensitivity and selectivity in vitro, with a detection limit of 0.91 nM. Finally, the dual-mode nanoprobes performed satisfactory TP fluorescence imaging (330.0 µm penetration depth) and FLIM (τave = 50.0 ns) of endogenous miR-21 in living cells and tissues. The dual-mode platforms have promising applications in miRNA-based early detection and therapy and hold much promise for improving clinical efficacy.

Target-triggered enzyme-free amplification for highly efficient AND-gated bioimaging in living cells.

Rapid, simultaneous, and sensitive detection of biomolecules has important application prospects in disease diagnosis and biomedical research. However, because the content of intracellular endogenous target biomolecules is usually very low, traditional detection methods can't be used for effective detection and imaging, and to enhance the detection sensitivity, signal amplification strategies are frequently required. The hybridization chain reaction (HCR) has been used to detect many disease biomarkers because of its simple operation, good reproducibility, and no enzyme involvement. Although HCR signal amplification methods have been employed to detect and image intracellular biomolecules, there are still false positive signals. Therefore, a target-triggered enzyme-free amplification system (GHCR system) was developed, as a fluorescent AND-gated sensing platform for intracellular target probing. The false positive signals can be well avoided and the accuracy of detection and imaging can be improved by using the design of the AND gate. Two cancer markers, GSH and miR-1246, were used as two orthogonal inputs for the AND gated probe. The AND-gated probe only works when GSH and miR-1246 are the inputs at the same time, and FRET signals can be the output. In addition to the use of AND-gated imaging, FRET-based high-precision ratiometric fluorescence imaging was employed. FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probes have a higher ability to resist interference from the intracellular environment, they can avoid false positive signals well, and they are expected to have good specificity. Due to the advantages of HCR, AND-gated, and FRET fluorescent probes, the GHCR system exhibited highly efficient AND-gated FRET bioimaging for intracellular endogenous miRNAs with a lower detection limit of 18 pM, which benefits the applications of ratiometric intracellular biosensing and bioimaging and offers a novel concept for advancing the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies in the field of cancer.

Development of HSP90 inhibitors-SN38 conjugates for cancer treatment.

Presently, chemotherapy remains to be one of the most important therapeutic approaches for malignant tumors. Ligands based drug conjugates are showing considerable promise as potential therapeutic agents delivery systems for cancer. Here, a series of HSP90 inhibitors-SN38 conjugates were developed through cleavable linkers for tumor-specific delivery of SN38 and reducing its side effects. In vitro assays showed that these conjugates exhibited acceptable stability in PBS and plasma, appreciable HSP90 binding affinity, and potent cytotoxic abilities. Cellular uptake behaviors also indicated that these conjugates could selectively target cancer cells in a time-dependent manner via HSP90. Among them, compound 10b with a glycine linkage exhibits appreciable in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles, and excellent in vivo antitumor activity in Capan-1 xenograft models, demonstrating the selective targeting and accumulation of the active payload at tumor sites. Above all, these results suggest that compound 10b has the potential as a potent anticancer drug, meriting further evaluation in the future.

Effect of Different Types of Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament on the Dynamic Biomechanical Response of the Spinal Cord: A Finite Element Analysis.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) has been identified as an important cause of cervical myelopathy. However, the biomechanical mechanism between the OPLL type and the clinical characteristics of myelopathy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different types of OPLL on the dynamic biomechanical response of the spinal cord. A three-dimensional finite element model of the fluid-structure interaction of the cervical spine with spinal cord was established and validated. The spinal cord stress and strain, cervical range of motion (ROM) in different types of OPLL models were predicted during dynamic flexion and extension activity. Different types of OPLL models showed varying degrees of increase in stress and strain under the process of flexion and extension, and there was a surge toward the end of extension. Larger spinal cord stress was observed in segmental OPLL. For continuous and mixed types of OPLL, the adjacent segments of OPLL showed a dramatic increase in ROM, while the ROM of affected segments was limited. As a dynamic factor, flexion and extension of the cervical spine play an amplifying role in OPLL-related myelopathy, while appropriate spine motion is safe and permitted. Segmental OPLL patients are more concerned about the spinal cord injury induced by large stress, and patients with continuous OPLL should be noted to progressive injuries of adjacent level.

Potential of electronic devices for detection of health problems in older adults at home: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to evaluate the overall diagnostic performance of e-devices for detection of health problems in older adults at home. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA-DTA guidelines. RESULTS: 31 studies were included with 24 studies included in meta-analysis. The included studies were divided into four categories according to the signals detected: physical activity (PA), vital signs (VS), electrocardiography (ECG) and other. The meta-analysis showed the pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were 0.94 and 0.98 respectively in the 'VS' group. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.97 and 0.98 respectively in the 'ECG' group. CONCLUSIONS: All kinds of e-devices perform well in diagnosing the common health problems. While ECG-based health problems detection system is more reliable than VS-based ones. For sole signal detection system has limitation in diagnosing specific health problems, more researches should focus on developing new systems combined of multiple signals.

A Cartesian-Based Trajectory Optimization with Jerk Constraints for a Robot.

To address the time-optimal trajectory planning (TOTP) problem with joint jerk constraints in a Cartesian coordinate system, we propose a time-optimal path-parameterization (TOPP) algorithm based on nonlinear optimization. The key insight of our approach is the presentation of a comprehensive and effective iterative optimization framework for solving the optimal control problem (OCP) formulation of the TOTP problem in the (s,s˙)-phase plane. In particular, we identify two major difficulties: establishing TOPP in Cartesian space satisfying third-order constraints in joint space, and finding an efficient computational solution to TOPP, which includes nonlinear constraints. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is an effective solution for time-optimal trajectory planning with joint jerk limits, and can be applied to a wide range of robotic systems.

Hybrid Nanofibrous Composites with Anisotropic Mechanics and Architecture for Tendon/Ligament Repair and Regeneration.

Rupture of tendons and ligaments (T/L) is a major clinical challenge due to T/L possess anisotropic mechanical properties and hierarchical structures. Here, to imitate these characteristics, an approach is presented by fabricating hybrid nanofibrous composites. First, hybrid fiber-reinforced yarns are fabricated via successively electrospinning poly(L-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL) and gelatin (Ge) nanofibers onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers to improve biodurability and biocompatibility. Then, by comparing different manufacturing methods, the knitted structure succeeds in simulating anisotropic mechanical properties, even being stronger than natural ligaments, and possessing comfort compliance superior to clinically used ligament advanced reinforcement system (LARS) ligament. Moreover, after inoculation with tendon-derived stem cells and transplantation in vivo, hybrid nanofibrous composites are integrated with native tendons to guide surrounding tissue ingrowth due to the highly interconnected and porous structure. The knitted hybrid nanofibrous composites are also ligamentized and remodeled in vivo to promote tendon regeneration. Specifically, after the use of optimized anisotropic hybrid nanofibrous composites to repair tendon, the deposition of tendon-associated extracellular matrix proteins is more significant. Thus, this study indicates a strategy of manufacturing anisotropic hybrid nanofibrous composites with superior mechanical properties and good histocompatibility for clinical reconstruction.

Structure of an Alkaline Pectate Lyase and Rational Engineering with Improved Thermo-Alkaline Stability for Efficient Ramie Degumming.

Alkaline pectate lyases have biotechnological applications in plant fiber processing, such as ramie degumming. Previously, we characterized an alkaline pectate lyase from Bacillus clausii S10, named BacPelA, which showed potential for enzymatic ramie degumming because of its high cleavage activity toward methylated pectins in alkaline conditions. However, BacPelA displayed poor thermo-alkaline stability. Here, we report the 1.78 Å resolution crystal structure of BacPelA in apo form. The enzyme has the characteristic right-handed ß-helix fold of members of the polysaccharide lyase 1 family and shows overall structural similarity to them, but it displays some differences in the details of the secondary structure and Ca2+-binding site. On the basis of the structure, 10 sites located in flexible regions and showing high B-factor and positive ΔTm values were selected for mutation, aiming to improve the thermo-alkaline stability of the enzyme. Following site-directed saturation mutagenesis and screening, mutants A238C, R150G, and R216H showed an increase in the T5015 value at pH 10.0 of 3.0 °C, 6.5 °C, and 7.0 °C, respectively, compared with the wild-type enzyme, interestingly accompanied by a 24.5%, 46.6%, and 61.9% increase in activity. The combined mutant R150G/R216H/A238C showed an 8.5 °C increase in the T5015 value at pH 10.0, and an 86.1% increase in the specific activity at 60 °C, with approximately doubled catalytic efficiency, compared with the wild-type enzyme. Moreover, this mutant retained 86.2% activity after incubation in ramie degumming conditions (4 h, 60 °C, pH 10.0), compared with only 3.4% for wild-type BacPelA. The combined mutant increased the weight loss of ramie fibers in degumming by 30.2% compared with wild-type BacPelA. This work provides a thermo-alkaline stable, highly active pectate lyase with great potential for application in the textile industry, and also illustrates an effective strategy for rational design and improvement of pectate lyases.

Two-Photon CQDs-Based Dual-Mode Nanoprobe for Fluorescence Imaging and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Intracellular Wide pH.

Biological fluorescence imaging technologies have attracted a lot of attention and have been widely used in biomedical fields. Compared with other technologies, fluorescence imaging has a lower cost, higher sensitivity, and easier operation. However, due to the disadvantages of one-photon (OP) fluorescence imaging, such as low spatial and poor temporal resolution and poor tissue permeability depth, the application of OP fluorescence imaging has some limitations. Though two-photon (TP) fluorescence imaging can well overcome these shortcomings of OP, the single-mode imaging remains deficient. Therefore, dual-mode imaging combined with TP imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can make up for the deficiency well, which make dual-mode imaging for the early diagnosis of diseases more accurate. Hence, a dual-mode nanoprobe TP-CQDs@MnO2 was designed for probing the fluorescence/MR dual-mode imaging strategy of intracellular H+ by using TP-CQDs (two photon-carbon quantum dots) and MnO2 nanosheets. The MnO2 nanosheets treated as fluorescence quenching agents of TP-CQDs exhibited a supersensitive response to H+, which made the fluorescence signals turn "off" to "on" for TP fluorescence imaging, in the meantime, large amounts of Mn2+ were generated for MRI. A dual-mode nanoprobe TP-CQDs@MnO2 can monitor intracellular wide pH (4.0-8.0), and the fluorescence intensity of TP-CQDs@MnO2 has recovered up to more than six times and the corresponding results of MRI were satisfactory. TP fluorescence imaging of cells and tissues showed higher detection sensitivity and deeper tissue penetration (240.0 µm) than OP. The dual-mode imaging platform hold great promise for pH-related early diagnosis and treatment, which has great potential to improve clinical efficacy.

A 168-year temperature recording based on tree rings and latitude differences in temperature changes in northeast China.

A ring-width series was developed from Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii) in the northeastern forest area of Inner Mongolia, China. By analyzing the relationships between tree-ring data and climate records, an August-September mean maximum temperature (T89) series during 1845 and 2012 was reconstructed based on a simple linear regression equation. This reconstructed series explained 40.9% variance of the observed temperature from 1959 to 2012. The reconstructed T89 series was consistent with the historical disaster events caused by extreme climate (e.g., flood, frost disaster, and cold damage). Besides, the temperature comparisons showed that the year in which the warm months (April-September) in northeast China began to warm up has latitude differences. It started with a gradual delay from north to south, starting 1980 in the south region, after 1950 AD in the central region and after 1940 in the north region. Our study can enrich high-resolution temperature series in Northeast China and help clarify the characteristic of recent warming in northeast China.

Enhanced antitumor efficacy through microwave ablation combined with a dendritic cell-derived exosome vaccine in hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the antitumor efficacy of microwave ablation combined with dendritic cell-derived exosomes (Dex) or dendritic cells (DC) in treating hepatocellular carcinoma using a tumor-bearing mouse model. METHODS: We used a bilateral tumor-bearing mouse model treated with MWA, MWA + DC (DC-combined group) or MWA + Dex (Dex-combined group). Following tumor ablation on one side, the tumor volume on the contralateral side was monitored. The proportions of CD8+ (cytotoxic) T cells and regulatory T (Treg) cells in the spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the number of CD8+ T cells and Treg cells in tumor sites was detected by immunohistochemistry. The concentration of interleukin-10 and interferon-γ in plasma was identified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The combination therapy significantly inhibited tumor growth compared with MWA monotherapy. In addition, the tumor immune microenvironment was significantly improved in HCC mice in the combination therapy groups compared to MWA group demonstrated by an increased number of CD8+ T cells and a decreased number of Treg cells in tumor sites. A lower proportion of Treg cells were observed in the spleen in the combination therapy groups compared to MWA group. Moreover, the concentration of plasma IFN-γ increased, and the concentration of plasma IL-10 decreased in the combination therapy groups compared to the MWA group. However, there was no statistical difference between the Dex-combined group and the DC-combined group in the comparisons mentioned above. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide evidence that MWA combined with Dex can significantly inhibit tumor growth and improve the immune microenvironment compared to MWA alone. Furthermore, the immune-enhancing effect of Dex and DC was equivalent in our combination therapy strategy.

Ratiometric and Turn-On Luminescence Detection of Water in Organic Solvents Using a Responsive Europium-Organic Framework.

The development of simple, rapid-response sensors for water detection in organic solvents is highly desirable in the chemical industry. Here we demonstrate a unique luminescence water sensor based on a dual-emitting europium-organic framework (Eu-MOF), which is assembled from a purposely selected 2-aminoterephthalic acid ligand with responsive fluorescence inherent in its intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process. This ICT process can be rapidly switched-on in the presence of water owing to its ability to boost and stabilize the ICT state. In contrast, the Eu3+ emission within the framework is insensitive to water and can serve as a reference, thus enabling highly sensitive water detection in a turn-on and ratiometric way. In addition, the significant ratiometric luminescence response induced by water makes Eu-MOF undergo a distinct change of emitting color from red to blue, which is favorable for visual analysis with the naked eye. Sensitive determination of water content (0.05-10% v/v) in various organic solvents is achieved in multiple readouts including ratiometric emission intensity, emission color, or the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinate. The present Eu-MOF sensor featuring high sensitivity and reusability, self-calibration, simple fabrication and operation, and capability for real-time and in situ detection is expected to have practical applications in water analysis for industrial processes.

A microfluidic chip based ratiometric aptasensor for antibiotic detection in foods using stir bar assisted sorptive extraction and rolling circle amplification.

A ratiometric and sensitive microfluidic chip based aptasensor was developed for antibiotic detection with kanamycin (Kana) as a model analyte. A novel stir bar assisted sorptive extraction and rolling circle amplification strategy was designed to largely amplify the signal and overcome complex matrix interference in food samples. The detection mechanism was as follows: firstly, many duplex DNA probes (a single-stranded DNA as a primer hybrid with an aptamer sequence) were modified on a stir bar. In the presence of Kana, the probes on the bar could specifically capture Kana and release the primer to trigger RCA in the presence of a circular DNA template (CDT). As the reaction proceeds, the amount of CDT decreased and the number of RCA products increased. It is worth mentioning that they can be efficiently separated and detected using a microfluidic chip. The signal ratio of RCA products and CDT (IR/IC) can be employed to qualify Kana in a wide linear range from 0.8 pg mL-1 to 10 ng mL-1 with a low detection limit of 0.3 pg mL-1. This method exhibited excellent sensitivity and selectivity and can obviously reduce the matrix interference through a ratiometric strategy combined with stir bar extraction. The aptasensor was successfully tested in milk and fish samples, confirming that it can be applied for on-site quantitation of antibiotic residues in foods.

Microfluidic chip electrophoresis for simultaneous fluorometric aptasensing of alpha-fetoprotein, carbohydrate antigen 125 and carcinoembryonic antigen by applying a catalytic hairpin assembly.

An aptamer based assay is presented that is making use of a catalytic hybrid assembly and a microfluidic chip electrophoresis format. It enables simultaneous determination of the biomarkers (BMs) α-fetoprotein (AFP), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The respective aptamers were covalently bound to Fe3O4@AuNPs (AuMPs) magnetic beads and then used to capture the biomarkers on their surface. Different single-stranded DNA primers were then labeled with various antibodies as encoding and signaling tags. The signal tags reacted with AuMPs-BMs to form different antibody-BM-aptamer complexes. After magnetic separation, three pairs of hairpins as substrates were introduced to trigger catalytic hybrid assembly by the primers in the complex. This will form many duplex DNA products of different length in the supernatant. The products can be magnetically separated by microfluidic chip electrophoresis and determined by fluorometry at excitation/emission wavelengths of 495/525 nm. Several experimental conditions including the hairpin concentration, reaction time and temperature were systemically optimized. The method can simultaneously quantify AFP, CEA and CA125, respectively, with detection limits of 0.1, 0.2, 0.15 pg mL-1 (at S/N = 3). The aptamer functionalized magnetic beads can be reused for at least 20 times with a recovery of up to 80% after heat treatment. The method was employed to simultaneously detect the three BMs in serum samples. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of the microfluidic chip electrophoresis and antibody-aptamer based multianalysis method for simultaneous detection of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).

Enzyme-free fluorometric assay for chloramphenicol based on double stirring bar-assisted dual signal amplification.

An enzyme-free fluorometric assay is described that accomplishes dual signal amplification by making use of a two stirring bars. Two Y-shaped DNA probes were designed and placed on the bars. When the target (with chloramphenicol as model analyte) is added, it triggers target recycling and simultaneously catalyzes hairpin assembly (CHA). A large fraction of DNA primers is released by the analyte from the bar to the supernatant and open hairpins with G-quadruplex DNA sequence. The G-quadruplex can specifically bind thioflavin T (ThT) to emit fluorescence (with excitation/emission maxima at 445 and 485 nm) for quantification of chloramphenicol. An enzyme is not needed. ThT is added to the system as a fluorescent DNA probe. All this strongly reduces the cost for sensor construction and usage. The dual signal amplification steps occur simultaneously which reduces the detection time. The assay was successfully employed to the determination of CAP in spiked milk and fish samples within 60 min and with a 16 pM limit of detection (at S/N = 3). Graphical abstract Schematic representation of a new method for the detection of chloramphenicol by using  two stirring bars. It is based on target recycling and catalyzed hairpin assembly amplification. CAP: chloramphenicol, ThT: thioflavin T, CHA: catalyzed hairpin assembly.