Smart Target-Initiated Catalytic DNA Junction Circuit Amplification Strategy for the Ultrasensitive Electrochemiluminescence Detection of MicroRNA.

One of the highly attractive research directions in the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) field is how to regulate and improve ECL efficiency. Quantum dots (QDs) are highly promising ECL materials due to their adjustable luminescence size and strong luminous efficiency. MoS2 NSs@QDs, an ECL emitter, is synthesized via hydrothermal methods, and its ECL mechanism is investigated using cyclic voltammetry and ECL-potential curves. Then, a stable and vertical attachment of a triplex DNA (tsDNA) probe to the MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) is applied to the electrode. Next, an innovative ECL sensor is courageously empoldered for precise and ultrasensitive detection of target miRNA-199a through the agency of ECL-resonance energy transfer (RET) strategy and a dextrous target-initiated catalytic three-arm DNA junction assembly (CTDJA) based on a toehold strand displacement reaction (TSDR) signal amplification approach. Impressively, the ingenious system not only precisely regulates the distance between energy donor-acceptor pairs leave energy less loss and more ECL-RET efficiency, but also simplifies the operational procedure and verifies the feasibility of this self-assembly process without human intervention. This study can expand MoS2 NSs@QDs utilization in ECL biosensing applications, and the proposed nucleic acid amplification strategy can become a miracle cure for ultrasensitive detecting diverse biomarkers, which helps researchers to better study the tumor mechanism, thereby unambiguously increasing cancer cure rates and reducing the risk of recurrence.

Fabrication of MIL-101(Cr)/silver nanocomposites as SERS substrate for sensitive determination of malachite green and crystal violet in tilapia.

Nanocomposites with multiple functions have attracted much attention in designing novel SERS substrates. In this report, the enrichment ability of MIL-101(Cr) and the local surface plasma resonance (LSPR) of silver nanoparticles are combined to fabricate a SERS substrate denoted as MIL-101-MA@Ag, which can simultaneously produce high-density and uniformly distributed hot spots. Moreover, the enrichment ability of MIL-101(Cr) can further improve the sensitivity by concentrating and transferring the analytes in the vicinity of hot spots. Under optimal conditions, MIL-101-MA@Ag showed good SERS activity for malachite green (MG) and crystal violet (CV), with detection limits as low as 9.5×10-11 M and 9.2×10-12 M at 1616 cm-1, respectively. The prepared substrate has been successfully applied to detect MG and CV in tilapia, the recovery rate of fish tissue extract was 86.4~102%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 8.9~15%. The results demonstrate that MOF-based nanocomposites are expected to be useful SERS substrates and have a universal applicability for the detection of other hazardous molecules.

Improved molecular softness of tadalafil hapten enhancing antibody performance in immunoassay: Evidence from computational chemistry.

The tadalafil-like compounds have appeared recently as adulterants in drinks and healthcare dietary supplements sourced from medicinal and edible food, which may cause illness and even death. In this work, the rationality of haptens was explored by computational chemistry and molecular simulation theories such as frontier molecular orbital (FMO)-based softness (S), three-dimensional (3D) structure, surface electrostatic potential (ESP), and lipophilic potential (LP). An antiserum from hapten H5 with the highest softness and maintaining the appropriate three-dimensional (3D) structure showed the optimal immunoassay performance, indicating an increasing softness was a critical factor for effective hapten. Based on the antibody induced by hapten H5, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) method for detecting multiple tadalafil-like adulterants was established. The icELISA showed a limit of detection (LOD), 50% inhibition concentration (IC50 ), and a working range of 0.004-0.396, 0.89-4.27, and 0.094-16.71 ng/ml for tadalafil, amino tadalafil, acetamino tadalafil, nortadalafil, and N-desmethyl ent-tadalafil, respectively. The spiked recoveries of tadalafil-like adulterants in samples ranged from 84.9% to 116.2%. The results of the icELISA and HPLC-MS/MS methods had a good correlation for real samples with the R2 of 0.9955. Specially, this work not only provided a convenient immunoassay method for measuring tadalafil-like adulterants in spirit drinks and dietary supplements in group-screening manner, but also suggested that softness was likely to be a general theory for rational hapten design. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Rapid monitoring of tadalafil-like adulterants in food samples is very necessary and important for consumers, regulatory agencies, and the food industry.

[A new polyketide from marine-derived Streptomyces sp.MDW-06].

To isolate and identify secondary metabolites of marine-derived Streptomyces sp.MDW-06,the isolations and purifications of compounds were performed by means of column chromatography over silica gel. And their structures were elucidated through the spectroscopic analysis of MS,NMR and specific rotations. The bioactivities were assayed by paper diffusion and DPPH method. From the fermentation broth of marine-derived Streptomyces sp.MDW-06,five compounds( 1-5) were isolated and identified as streptopentanoic acid( 1),germicidin A( 2),germicidin B( 3),isogermicidin A( 4),isogermicidin B( 5) and oxohygrolidin( 6),respectively. Compound 1 is a new compound. Compound 1 shows DPPH radical scavenging activity with 36. 4% at 100 mg·L~(-1).

[Evaluation of Performance of an Aminated Rosin-based Resin for Adsorption of Norfloxacin from Aqueous Solutions].

An aminated rosin-based resin (ARBR) was synthesized as a novel environmentally-friendly adsorbent for removal of Norfloxacin (NOR) from aqueous solutions. Its features were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and surface area measurements (BET). The effects of resin dosage, pH, and ionic strength on the ARBR adsorption properties of NOR were investigated by batch experiments. Results showed that the NOR adsorption amounts increased with pH in the range from 2.0 to 6.0, but decreased at higher pH (8-10). The adsorption process of NOR followed a pseudo-second rate model and could be fitted to the Langmuir isotherm, with calculated maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 30.29 mg·g-1 at pH 6.0 and 20℃. Thermodynamic calculations showed that the adsorption of NOR was a spontaneous and endothermic process and could be attributed to a combination of electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding. Furthermore, the adsorbed NOR on ARBR could be efficiently desorbed by 0.1 mol·L-1 HCl to regenerate the resin. After five adsorption-desorption recycles, ARBR had a stable adsorption performance and could be recycled. The adsorption performance is better than that of various commercial resins, and these research results contribute to the development of applications of rosin derivatives and their utilization in the environmental control of micro pollutants.

Ru(bpy)32+-Silica@Poly-L-lysine-Au as labels for electrochemiluminescence lysozyme aptasensor based on 3D graphene.

In this work, the feasibility of a novel sensitive electrochemiluminescence aptasensor for the detection of lysozyme using Ru(bpy)32+-Silica@Poly-L-lysine-Au (RuSiNPs@PLL-Au) nanocomposites labeling as an indicator was demonstrated. The substrate electrode of the aptasensor was prepared by depositing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on 3D graphene-modified electrode. The lysozyme binding aptamer (LBA) was attached to the 3D graphene/AuNPs electrode through gold-thiol affinity, hybridized with a complementary single-strand DNA (CDNA) of the lysozyme aptamer labeled by RuSiNPs@PLL-Au as an electrochemiluminescence intensity amplifier. Thanks to the synergistic amplification of the 3D graphene, the AuNPs and RuSiNPs@PLL-Au NPs linked to Ru(bpy)32+-ECL further enhanced the ECL intensity of the aptasensor. In presence of lysozyme, the CDNA segment of the self-assembled duplex was displaced by the lysozyme, resulting in decreased electrochemiluminescence signal. Under the optimized conditions, the decrease in electrochemiluminescence intensity varied proportionally with the logarithmic concentration of the lysozyme from 2.25 × 10-12 to 5.0 × 10-8 mol L-1, and the detection limit was estimated to 7.5 × 10-13 mol L-1. The aptasensor was further tested in real samples and found reliable for the detection of lysozyme, thus holding great potential application in food safety researches and bioassay analysis.

Synthesis of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for the selective separation and determination of metronidazole in cosmetic samples.

In this study, novel magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were developed as a sorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) and used for the selective separation of metronidazole (MNZ) in cosmetics; MNZ was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). First, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by the co-precipitation of Fe(2+)and Fe(3+) ions in an ammonia solution; then oleic acid (OA) was modified onto the surface of Fe3O4NPs. Finally, the MMIP was prepared by aqueous suspension polymerization, involving the copolymerization of Fe3O4NPs@OA with MNZ as the template molecule, methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol maleic rosinate acrylate (EGMRA) as the cross-linking agent, and 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator. The MMIP materials showed high selective adsorption capacity and fast binding kinetics for MNZ; the maximum adsorption amount of the MMIP to MNZ was 46.7 mg/g. The assay showed a linear range from 0.1 to 20.0 µg/mL for MNZ with the correlation coefficient 0.999. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of intra- and inter-day ranging from 0.71 to 2.45% and from 1.06 to 5.20% were obtained. The MMIP can be applied to the enrichment and determination of MNZ in cosmetic products with the recoveries of spiked toner, powder, and cream cosmetic samples ranging from 90.6 to 104.2, 84.1 to 91.4, and 90.3 to 100.4%, respectively, and the RSD was <3.54%.

Amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on immobilization of hemoglobin on a glassy carbon electrode modified with fe(3)o(4)/chitosan core-shell microspheres.

Novel magnetic Fe(3)O(4)/chitosan (CS) microspheres were prepared using magnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and the natural macromolecule chitosan. Then, using an easy and effective hemoglobin (Hb) immobilization method, an innovative biosensor with a Fe(3)O(4)/CS-Hb-Fe(3)O(4)/CS "sandwich" configuration was constructed. This biosensor had a fast (less than 10 s) response to H(2)O(2) and excellent linear relationships were obtained in the concentration range of 5.0 × 10(-5) to 1.8 × 10(-3) M and 1.8 × 10(-3) to 6.8 × 10(-3) M with a detection limit of 4.0 × 10(-6) M (s/n = 3) under the optimum conditions. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant K(m) was 0.29 mM and it showed the excellent biological activity of the fixed Hb. Moreover, the biosensor had long-time stability and good reproducibility. The method was used to determine H(2)O(2) concentration in real samples.

Glucose biosensor based on glucose oxidase immobilized in sol-gel chitosan/silica hybrid composite film on Prussian blue modified glass carbon electrode.

An improved amperometric glucose biosensor based on glucose oxidase immobilized in sol-gel chitosan/silica hybrid composite film, which was prepared from chitosan (CS) and methyltrimethoxysilane (MTOS), on the surface of Prussian blue (PB)-modified glass carbon electrode was developed. The film was characterized by FT-IR. Effects of some experimental variables such as ratio of CS to silica, buffer pH, temperature, and applied potential on the current response of the biosensor were investigated. The biosensor fabricated under optimal conditions had a linear response to glucose over the range 5.0 x 10(-5) to 2.6 x 10(-2) M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9948 and a detection limit of 8.0 x 10(-6) M based on S/N = 3. The biosensor had a fast response time of less than 10 s, a high sensitivity of 420 nA mM(-1), a long-term stability of over 60 days, and a good selectivity. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant K(m) was found to be 3.2 x 10(-3) M. The activation energy for enzymatic reaction was calculated to be 21.9 kJ mol(-1). This method has been used to determine the glucose concentration in real human blood samples.