Macrophage-membrane-coated hybrid nanoparticles with self-supplied hydrogen peroxide for enhanced chemodynamic tumor therapy.

Addressing the challenges of chemodynamic therapies (CDTs) relying on Fenton reactions in malignant tumors is an active research area. Here, we report a method to develop pH-responsive hybrid nanoparticles for enhanced chemodynamic tumor treatment. Reactive CaO2 nanoparticles (core) are isolated by biocompatible ZIF-8 doped with Fe2+ (shell), and then encapsulated by macrophage membranes (symbolized as CaO2@Fe-ZIF-8@macrophage membrane or CFZM), thus endowed with high stability under normal physiological conditions. Our design features active tumor-homing by the macrophage-membrane coating, tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive cargo release, and self-supplied hydrogen peroxide for promotion of the Fenton reaction. We demonstrate the improved delivery/tumor cell uptake of CFZM, the efficient production of toxic ˙OH with self-supplied H2O2 in CFZM, and high-efficacy tumor ablation on BALB/c mice bearing CT26 tumor cells. This offers a translational strategy to develop active tumor-targeting and TME-responsive nanotherapeutics with enhanced CDT against malignant tumors.

Investigating geometrical characteristics of collapsed pipes and the changing role of driving factors.

Determination of the amount (i.e., area and volume) of soil losses due to erosional landforms, especially collapsed pipes, plays a considerable role in different decision-making approaches. Further, mapping the spatial distribution and predicting the volumetric and areal losses of collapsed pipes (CPs) are essential for supporting ecosystem health. The study was conducted in relation to the area and volume of CPs and their related covariables. It focused on the estimation of soil losses due to collapsed pipes using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images as well as field covariates at the Chatal Watershed, Golestan Province, Iran. A total of 481 soil samples were collected from homogeneous units with an area of approximately 1,410 ha. The potential relationship between the area/volume of collapsed pipes and land use, several topographic attributes (i.e., altitude, slope, and aspect), and soil properties, including soil stability, soil organic matter, clay, silt, and sand contents were analyzed using five distance-based methods (i.e., kernel density (KD), average nearest neighbor (ANN), spatial autocorrelation, hotspot analysis (HSA), and ordinary least square (OLS) analysis. The average nearest neighbor (Ratio = 0.12, Z score = -20.30, p-value < 0.05) and Moran space solidarity (Moran index = 0.258, Z score = 5.50, p-value < 0.05) showed the cluster distribution of area and volume of CPs. Hot spots and cold spots in the southwestern part of the study area were identified using KD and HSA. The relationship between existing independent and dependent variables (area of CPs) using regression analysis of OLS showed that slope and aggregate stability (>2.5 standard deviation) had the highest positive relationship with the dependent variable. Regarding the volume of CPs, land use (especially agricultural lands) had the strongest relationship with the dependent variable. Thus, geometrical characteristics of collapsed pipes can be applied as a quantitative indicator for the identification of hotspot zones (hazardous areas), land use planning, and erosion hazard mitigation. However, more studies are required to measure geometrical characteristics of soil landforms.

Sensory analysis of hepatitis B virus DNA for medicinal clinical diagnostics based on molybdenum doped ZnO nanowires field effect transistor biosensor; a comparative study to PCR test results.

In this paper, a bio-sensing setup for investigating hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) diagnosis including rapid testing and field effect transistor (FET) in label free assay is proposed. The FET biosensor was fabricated by molybdenum doped ZnO nanowires (NWs) in easy method and cost-free approach. The materialized NWs were synthesized by physical vapor deposition (PVD) growth mechanism. The molybdenum dopant could bring about vacancy sites for DNA adsorption and electric charge transfer. The capability of the fabricated biosensor was evaluated by investigating the PCR-verified samples known as True Positive (TP), True Negative (TN), False Positive (FP) and False Negative (FN). The FET biosensor could materialize the clinical tests on samples TP, TN, FP and FN and could distinguish the clinical samples from each other. The designed biosensor showed more precision than the PCR-outcomes by exhibiting more sensitivity on labeled samples known as FN. This research has analytical and comparative study on fabricated biosensor performance. The achieved results show that the biosensor had significant response to samples which have not been carefully detected by PCR test. The fabricated biosensor showed high accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility for differentiating (TP), (TN), (FP) and (FN) samples from healthy and normal sample. The response sensitivity was calculated and biosensor showed a detection limit (LOD) of 1 pM. The biosensor demonstrated high response and satisfied signal in the concentration ranges from 1 pM to 10 µM.

The cancer therapy materialization by theranostic nanoparticles based on gold doped iron oxide under electromagnetic field amplification.

The harnessing of the cancer X-ray radiation therapy by gold-decorated Fe3O4 theranostic nanoparticles (Au-Fe3O4 NPs) under electromagnetic field was articulated. The applied electromagnetic field could assemble the NPs inside cell in oriented field direction and enhance the local irradiation dose inside cell. By materializing NPs, the absorption of the energy exposed by X-ray radiation under electromagnetic field was restricted. The cytotoxic properties of the Au-Fe3O4 NPs were assessed using MTT assay in L929, HeLa and PC3 cell lines under radiation and dark conditions. The efficiency of the Au-Fe3O4 NPs under 2 Gy dose radiations was higher than 6 Gy radiations in untreated cells. The in vitro measurements showed that under electromagnetic field and X-ray radiation therapy with Au-Fe3O4 NPs, around 90% of the cancer cells population was annihilated. The in vivo measurements indicated that the tumor shape and size under X-ray with Au-Fe3O4 NPs after 3 weeks were efficiently deteriorated.

Ultrasensitive and easily reproducible biosensor based on novel doped MoS2 nanowires field-effect transistor in label-free approach for detection of hepatitis B virus in blood serum.

An ultrasensitive field-effect transistor (FET) for hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) detection in label free approach and easily reproducible setup was reported. The fabricated FET biosensor was materialized by ZnO doped MoS2 nanowires (NWs). This report introduced a novel structure of the MoS2 in bio-sensing approach. Because of unique electrical and structural properties of MoS2, HBV biosensor could demonstrate the high sensitivity and showed the detection limit of 1 fM. The MoS2 NWs fabrication was materialized through ZnO based vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) technique. The fabricated device could measure the DNA targets in a linear concentration range from 0.5 pM to 50 µM. The dynamic response time of FET biosensor was 25 s. The functionality of the NWs biosensor for label-free measurements could be repeated for several times without any significant malfunction and biosensor could retain 96% of its initial response after eight weeks maintenance. The HBV biosensor showed high selectivity by discrimination the complementary DNA oligonucleotides from non-complementary and the mismatch (1, 2 and 3 bases) oligonucleotides. The materialized platform was desirably reproduced for HBV concentrations in human serum. The specificity of the biosensor was evaluated against several different types of DNAs and the fabricated device showed the outstanding performance. In order to optimize the device functionality, the biosensor was checked for two different human samples and device could distinguish the samples from each other in the same manner.

Spatiotemporal analysis and hotspots detection of COVID-19 using geographic information system (March and April, 2020).

Understanding the spatial distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases can provide valuable information to anticipate the world outbreaks and in turn improve public health policies. In this study, the cumulative incidence rate (CIR) and cumulative mortality rate (CMR) of all countries affected by the new corona outbreak were calculated at the end of March and April, 2020. Prior to the implementation of hot spot analysis, the spatial autocorrelation results of CIR were obtained. Hot spot analysis and Anselin Local Moran's I indices were then applied to accurately locate high and low-risk clusters of COVID-19 globally. San Marino and Italy revealed the highest CMR by the end of March, though Belgium took the place of Italy as of 30th April. At the end of the research period (by 30th April), the CIR showed obvious spatial clustering. Accordingly, southern, northern and western Europe were detected in the high-high clusters demonstrating an increased risk of COVID-19 in these regions and also the surrounding areas. Countries of northern Africa exhibited a clustering of hot spots, with a confidence level above 95%, even though these areas assigned low CIR values. The hot spots accounted for nearly 70% of CIR. Furthermore, analysis of clusters and outliers demonstrated that these countries are situated in the low-high outlier pattern. Most of the surveyed countries that exhibited clustering of high values (hot spot) with a confidence level of 99% (by 31st March) and 95% (by 30th April) were dedicated higher CIR values. In conclusion, hot spot analysis coupled with Anselin local Moran's I provides a scrupulous and objective approach to determine the locations of statistically significant clusters of COVID-19 cases shedding light on the high-risk districts.

Ultrasensitive DNA biosensor for hepatitis B virus detection based on tin-doped WO3/In2O3 heterojunction nanowire photoelectrode under laser amplification.

The fabrication of a highly sensitive DNA biosensor based on tin-doped WO3/In2O3 nanowires as heterojunction photoelectrode for detection of hepatitis B virus is reported. The tin-doped WO3/In2O3 nanowires were fabricated via a physical vapor deposition mechanism and were nearly 50 nm in width. The single-strand DNA probe was covalently immobilized on the nanowire surface. The biosensor could detect the hybridization of complementary DNA in a label-free approach at very low concentrations. The biodetection processes were conducted through reduction-oxidation reactions in the electrochemical impedance spectral measurements. The electrochemical impedance responses were biased under laser amplification to achieve the detection limit of 1 fM. The fabricated biosensor could detect DNA concentrations from 0.1 pM to 10 µM linearly in the calibration plot. Due to laser amplification, more charged carriers were released and they interacted with DNA on the electrode surface. The efficiency of the charge transfer parameter was enhanced by a photogeneration process, and the electron-hole recombination rate could intensively increase biosensor sensitivity, selectivity, and distinguishability. The stability of the nanowire biosensor under laser amplification demonstrated 96% of its initial responses after 6 weeks of maintenance. Graphical abstract.

An ultrasensitive label free human papilloma virus DNA biosensor using gold nanotubes based on nanoporous polycarbonate in electrical alignment.

An impedimetric human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA biosensor based on gold nanotubes (AuNTs) in label free detection was materialized. The AuNTs decorated nanoporous polycarbonate (AuNTs-PC) template as biosensor electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition method. The single strand DNA (ss-DNA) probe was covalently immobilized onto the AuNTs-PC electrode. The hybridization of target sequences with the ss-DNA probe was observed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The biosensor showed high selectivity and could differentiate between the complementary, mismatch and non-complementary DNA sequences. The EIS measurements were matched to Randle's equivalent circuit. The negatively-charged HPV DNA oligonucleotides under external electric field were oriented in a preferred direction and the bio-sensing responses were intensified by controlling the immobilization and hybridization of the sequences on the AuNTs surface. The fabricated DNA biosensor under electric field amplification was stable up to six weeks and demonstrated 97% of its initial detection responses. The biosensor displayed the HPV DNA hybridization detection in very low concentrations in the linear response ranges of 0.01 pM-1 µM and was able to acquire a limit of detection (LOD) of 1 fM.

The field effect transistor DNA biosensor based on ITO nanowires in label-free hepatitis B virus detecting compatible with CMOS technology.

In this paper the field-effect transistor DNA biosensor for detecting hepatitis B virus (HBV) based on indium tin oxide nanowires (ITO NWs) in label free approach has been fabricated. Because of ITO nanowires intensive conductance and functional modified surface, the probe immobilization and target hybridization were increased strongly. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) measurement showed that ITO nanowires were crystalline and less than 50nm in diameter. The single-stranded hepatitis B virus DNA (SS-DNA) was immobilized as probe on the Au-modified nanowires. The DNA targets were measured in a linear concentration range from 1fM to 10µM. The detection limit of the DNA biosensor was about 1fM. The time of the hybridization process for defined single strand was 90min. The switching ratio of the biosensor between "on" and "off" state was ~ 1.1 × 105. For sensing the specificity of the biosensor, non-complementary, mismatch and complementary DNA oligonucleotide sequences were clearly discriminated. The HBV biosensor confirmed the highly satisfied specificity for differentiating complementary sequences from non-complementary and the mismatch oligonucleotides. The response time of the DNA sensor was 37s with a high reproducibility. The stability and repeatability of the DNA biosensor showed that the peak current of the biosensor retained 98% and 96% of its initial response for measurements after three and five weeks, respectively.

Small Duplication of HPRT 1 Gene May Be Causative For Lesh-Nyhan Disease in Iranian Patients.

Deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HGPRT) is a rare inborn error of purine metabolism and is characterized by uric acid overproduction along with a variety of neurological manifestations that depend on a degree of the enzymatic deficiency. Inheritance of HPRT deficiency is X-linked recessive; thus, males are generally more affected and heterozygous females are carriers (usually asymptomatic). Human HPRT is encoded by a single structural gene on the long arm of the X chromosome at Xq26. More than 300 mutations in the HPRT1 gene have been detected. Diagnosis can be based on clinical and biochemical findings as well as enzymatic and molecular testing. Molecular diagnosis is the best way as it allows for faster and more accurate carrier and prenatal diagnosis. In this report, a new small duplication in the HPRT1 gene was found by sequencing, which has yet to be reported.