A reliable fluorescence "turn-on" aptasensor based on dual-emitting europium metal-organic frameworks for ultrasensitive and selective detection of sulfamethazine.

A high-performance fluorescent "turn-on" aptasensor (Eu-MOFs@SMZ-Apt) for sulfamethazine (SMZ) determination was designed using dual-emitting europium metal-organic frameworks (Eu-MOFs) as a signal transducer and an amplifier. Eu-MOFs featuring dual emission peaks (430 nm and 620 nm) were first prepared via a facile self-assembly strategy employing Eu (III) ions and 2-aminoterephthalic acid as precursors. The high-affinity aptamer was bonded with Eu-MOFs to form Eu-MOFs@SMZ-Apt through the amidation reaction. Benefiting from the integration of inherent virtues from Eu-MOFs and aptamer, the Eu-MOFs@SMZ-Apt-based sensor allowed sensitive and selective determination of SMZ with good linear relationships in a range of 1.4-40 ng mL-1 and a low detection line (0.379 ng mL-1). This sensor was successfully applied to the determination of trace SMZ in real samples with satisfactory recoveries (86.47-113.52%) and a relative standard deviation (<6.51). Consequently, the Eu-MOFs@SMZ-Apt ratiometric fluorescence sensor furnishes new possibilities for the accurate detection of various pollutants in food.

Stability and 3D-printing performance of high-internal-phase emulsions based on ultrafine soybean meal particles.

There are numerous studies on the application of soybean whey protein in three-dimensional (3D) printing. In this study, the effects of soybean meal particles (5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, and 10%) and oil-phase concentrations (70%, 72%, 74%, 76%, and 78%) on the stability and 3D-printing performance of a soybean-meal-based high-internal-phase emulsion were investigated. The results showed that the particle size of the emulsion decreased with increasing soybean meal particle concentration, and that increasing the concentration of the oil phase improved the viscoelasticity of the emulsion. Rheological tests further showed that the higher storage modulus of the emulsion indicated better support and stability. The emulsion with 8% soybean meal-particles and 76% oil-phase concentration exhibited the best printing effect. This study provides an effective solution for the preparation of stabilized high-internal-phase emulsions of soybean meal particles suitable for 3D printing.

Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater Using Poly(Gamma-Glutamic Acid)-Based Hydrogel.

The removal of toxic heavy metal ions from wastewater is of great significance in the protection of the environment and human health. Poly(gamma-glutamic acid) (PGA) is a non-toxic, biodegradable, and highly water-soluble polymer possessing carboxyl and imino functional groups. Herein, water-insoluble PGA-based hydrogels were prepared, characterized, and investigated as heavy metal adsorbents. The prepared hydrogels were recyclable and exhibited good adsorption effects on heavy metal ions including Cu2+, Cr6+, and Zn2+. The effects of adsorption parameters including temperature, solution pH, initial concentration of metal ions, and contact time on the adsorption capacity of the hydrogel for Cu2+ were investigated. The adsorption was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model, implying a physical and monolayer adsorption. The adsorption mechanisms investigation exhibited that Cu2+ adsorbed on the hydrogel via electrostatic interactions with anionic carboxylate groups of PGA in addition to the coordination interactions with the -NH groups. Importantly, the PGA hydrogel exhibited good reusability and the adsorption capability for Cu2+ remained high after five consecutive cycles. The properties of PGA hydrogel make it a potential candidate material for heavy metal ion removal in wastewater treatment.

Quality changes in Chinese high-quality indica rice under different storage temperatures with varying initial moisture contents.

The planting area of high-quality indica rice varieties has been growing rapidly in China. However, the storage characteristics of these varieties remains unclear. In this research, different moisture contents (13.5, 14.5, and 15.5%) of high-quality rice (variety Xiadao No.1) were stored at different temperatures (15, 20, 25, and 30°C) for 360 d, and then evaluated for lipid metabolism, redox enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, and sensory attributes. With the prolongation of storage, rice displayed an upward trend in fatty acid value, malondialdehyde content, and cooked rice hardness and a downward trend in contents of total fat and non-starch lipid, peroxidase and catalase activities, and sensory score of cooked rice. The change trends of these quality parameters were aggravated by elevating storage temperature and moisture content. Linoleic acid content of rice generally decreased with prolonged storage. After 300 d of storage, rice with initial moisture content of 13.5% at 30°C showed a fatty acid value of higher than 30 mg KOH/100 g, while rice of other two initial moisture contents reached similar level at 25°C. After the whole storage period, only rice with initial moisture contents of 13.5 and 14.5% stored at 15°C had a sensory score of higher than 60. These results suggested that the aging process of high-quality rice can be inhibited by decreasing the storage temperature and initial moisture content. These results can provide reference for grain storage enterprises to select proper storage condition to store high-quality rice.

Amine vapor-responsive ratiometric sensing tag based on HPTS/TPB-PVA fluorescent film for visual determination of fish freshness.

In this study, amine vapor-sensitive films with ratiometric fluorescence attributes were developed. The pH-sensitive fluorescein 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid trisodium salt (HPTS) and its tetraphenylethylene derivative (TPB) were selected as ratiometric indicators and incorporated into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix to produce HPTS/TPB-PVA films. The films responded well to amine vapors, and the interference of aromatic vapors did not substantially affect the fluorescence signals of the films. Under UV light at a wavelength of 365 nm, the fluorescence of the films changed from dark pink to light pink and finally to yellow when the freshness of the fish was visually checked during storage. In addition, the color difference values of the films showed a positive correlation with the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), ranging from 12.7 to 24.8 mg/100 g at 25 °C and 8.4 to 25.6 mg/100 g at 4 °C, respectively. This indicates that fluorescent films have good potential for quantifying fish freshness in the near future when connected to an automatic data processing system based on color differences.

Modified Magnetic Resonance Imaging Burden of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease and Related Risk Factors in Patients With Thalassemia.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the burden of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) in patients with thalassemia and related risk factors. METHODS: The clinical data and MRI of patients with thalassemia were retrospectively analyzed, and non-thalassemia controls with matched sex and age were selected. The modified MRI burden of CSVD included recent small subcortical infarct, presumed vasogenic white matter hyperintensity, presumed vasogenic lacunae, perivascular space (PVS), and brain atrophy. RESULTS: This study included 110 patients in each of the thalassemia and control groups. There was no significant difference in sex, age, and common cerebrovascular disease risk factors between the 2 groups. The patients with thalassemia had a higher red blood cell count and lower content of hemoglobin. The PVS and modified MRI burden scores in the thalassemia group were higher than in the control group. With the increase in age, patients with thalassemia have a more severe CSVD burden. CONCLUSION: Patients with thalassemia have a heavier modified MRI burden of CSVD than non-thalassemia patients, particularly PVS, and aging is an important risk factor for CSVD changes.

Lateral Flow Immunoassay Based on Quantum-Dot Nanobeads for Detection of Chloramphenicol in Aquatic Products.

Quantum dot nanobeads (QBs) were used as signal source to develop competitive lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) for the detection of chloramphenicol (CAP). The quantitative detection of CAP was achieved by calculating the total color difference (∆E) values of the test line (T line) using the images of test strips. QB-based LFIA (QBs-LFIA) allowed the effective dynamic linear detection of CAP in the range of 0.1-1.5 ng/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) was 3.0 ng/mL, which was 50 and 667 times lower than those achieved for two different brands of colloidal gold kits. The recoveries of CAP during real-sample detection were 82.82-104.91% at spiked levels of 0.1, 0.7, and 1.5 ng/mL. These results indicate that the developed QBs-LFIA facilitates the sensitive detection of CAP.

Increased TG Levels and HOMA-IR Score Are Associated With a High Risk of Prediabetes: A Prospective Study.

This study aimed to determine the association of blood lipid and insulin levels with the development of prediabetes. In this prospective cohort study, we collected and analyzed data related to demographic characteristics, lipid profiles, and insulin parameters at baseline (2008-2012) and at follow-up (2019-2020). A total of 1205 participants were included. The study found that maintained or elevated Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMO-IR) score and elevated triglyceride (TG) levels from baseline to follow-up were associated with an increased risk of prediabetes. However, the interaction between blood lipids and insulin had no significant effect on the risk of prediabetes. Our findings indicate that elevated TG or HOMA-IR levels are associated with an increased risk of prediabetes. These findings emphasize the need to formulate initiatives that can help reduce dyslipidemia to prevent the onset of prediabetes and diabetes.

Siglec-9 acts as an immune-checkpoint molecule on macrophages in glioblastoma, restricting T-cell priming and immunotherapy response.

Neoadjuvant immune-checkpoint blockade therapy only benefits a limited fraction of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Thus, targeting other immunomodulators on myeloid cells is an attractive therapeutic option. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics of patients with GBM treated with neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy. We identified unique monocyte-derived tumor-associated macrophage subpopulations with functional plasticity that highly expressed the immunosuppressive SIGLEC9 gene and preferentially accumulated in the nonresponders to anti-PD-1 treatment. Deletion of Siglece (murine homolog) resulted in dramatically restrained tumor development and prolonged survival in mouse models. Mechanistically, targeting Siglece directly activated both CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells through antigen presentation, secreted chemokines and co-stimulatory factor interactions. Furthermore, Siglece deletion synergized with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment to improve antitumor efficacy. Our data demonstrated that Siglec-9 is an immune-checkpoint molecule on macrophages that can be targeted to enhance anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapeutic efficacy for GBM treatment.

Transcriptome profile and immune infiltrated landscape revealed a novel role of γδT cells in mediating pyroptosis in celiac disease.

BACKGROUND: Celiac disease (CeD) is a primary malabsorption syndrome with no specific therapy, which greatly affects the quality of life. Since the pathogenesis of CeD remains riddled, based on multiple transcriptome profiles, this study aimed to establish an immune interaction network and elucidated new mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of CeD, providing potentially new evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of CeD. METHODS: Three microarray and three RNA sequencing datasets of human duodenal tissue with or without CeD were included in Gene Expression Omnibus and respectively merged into derivation and validation cohorts. Differential expression gene and functional enrichment analysis were developed, then pyroptosis enrichment score (PES) model was established to quantify pyroptosis levels. Immune infiltration and co-expression network were constructed based on Xcell database. Protein-protein interaction and weighted gene co-expression network analysis were determined to identify pyroptosis relative hub genes, whose predictive efficiency were tested using a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model. CeD animal and in vitro cell line models were established to verify the occurrence of pyroptosis and molecules expression employing immunofluorescence, western blotting, cell counting kit-8 assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Analysis of single-cell RNAseq (scRNAseq) was performed using "Seurat" R package. RESULTS: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (137) were identified in derivation cohort whose function was mainly enriched in interferon response and suppression of metabolism. Since an enrichment of pyroptosis pathway in CeD was unexpectedly discovered, a PES model with high efficiency was constructed and verified with two external databases, which confirmed that pyroptosis was significantly upregulated in CeD epithelia. γδT cells exhibited high expression of IFN-γ were the most relevant cells associated with pyroptosis and occupied a greater weight in the LASSO predictive model of CeD. An accumulation of GSDMD expressed in epithelia was identified using scRNAseq, while animal model and in vitro experiments confirmed that epithelium cells were induced to become "pre-pyroptotic" status via IFN-γ/IRF1/GSDMD axis. Furthermore, gluten intake triggered pyroptosis via caspase-1/GSDMD/IL-1ß pathway. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that pyroptosis was involved in the pathogenesis of CeD, and elucidated the novel role of γδT cells in mediating epithelial cell pyroptosis.

Multimodal single-cell analysis of nonrandom heteroplasmy distribution in human retinal mitochondrial disease.

Variants within the high copy number mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) can disrupt organelle function and lead to severe multisystem disease. The wide range of manifestations observed in patients with mitochondrial disease results from varying fractions of abnormal mtDNA molecules in different cells and tissues, a phenomenon termed heteroplasmy. However, the landscape of heteroplasmy across cell types within tissues and its influence on phenotype expression in affected patients remains largely unexplored. Here, we identify nonrandom distribution of a pathogenic mtDNA variant across a complex tissue using single-cell RNA-Seq, mitochondrial single-cell ATAC sequencing, and multimodal single-cell sequencing. We profiled the transcriptome, chromatin accessibility state, and heteroplasmy in cells from the eyes of a patient with mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and from healthy control donors. Utilizing the retina as a model for complex multilineage tissues, we found that the proportion of the pathogenic m.3243A>G allele was neither evenly nor randomly distributed across diverse cell types. All neuroectoderm-derived neural cells exhibited a high percentage of the mutant variant. However, a subset of mesoderm-derived lineage, namely the vasculature of the choroid, was near homoplasmic for the WT allele. Gene expression and chromatin accessibility profiles of cell types with high and low proportions of m.3243A>G implicate mTOR signaling in the cellular response to heteroplasmy. We further found by multimodal single-cell sequencing of retinal pigment epithelial cells that a high proportion of the pathogenic mtDNA variant was associated with transcriptionally and morphologically abnormal cells. Together, these findings show the nonrandom nature of mitochondrial variant partitioning in human mitochondrial disease and underscore its implications for mitochondrial disease pathogenesis and treatment.

Broad Sarbecovirus Neutralizing Antibodies Obtained by Computational Design and Synthetic Library Screening.

Members of the Sarbecovirus subgenus of Coronaviridae have twice caused deadly threats to humans. There is increasing concern about the rapid mutation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has evolved into multiple generations of epidemic variants in 3 years. Broad neutralizing antibodies are of great importance for pandemic preparedness against SARS-CoV-2 variants and divergent zoonotic sarbecoviruses. Here, we analyzed the structural conservation of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) from representative sarbecoviruses and chose S2H97, a previously reported RBD antibody with ideal breadth and resistance to escape, as a template for computational design to enhance the neutralization activity and spectrum. A total of 35 designs were purified for evaluation. The neutralizing activity of a large proportion of these designs against multiple variants was increased from several to hundreds of times. Molecular dynamics simulation suggested that extra interface contacts and enhanced intermolecular interactions between the RBD and the designed antibodies are established. After light and heavy chain reconstitution, AI-1028, with five complementarity determining regions optimized, showed the best neutralizing activity across all tested sarbecoviruses, including SARS-CoV, multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants, and bat-derived viruses. AI-1028 recognized the same cryptic RBD epitope as the parental prototype antibody. In addition to computational design, chemically synthesized nanobody libraries are also a precious resource for rapid antibody development. By applying distinct RBDs as baits for reciprocal screening, we identified two novel nanobodies with broad activities. These findings provide potential pan-sarbecovirus neutralizing drugs and highlight new pathways to rapidly optimize therapeutic candidates when novel SARS-CoV-2 escape variants or new zoonotic coronaviruses emerge. IMPORTANCE The subgenus Sarbecovirus includes human SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and hundreds of genetically related bat viruses. The continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 has led to the striking evasion of neutralizing antibody (NAb) drugs and convalescent plasma. Antibodies with broad activity across sarbecoviruses would be helpful to combat current SARS-CoV-2 mutations and longer term animal virus spillovers. The study of pan-sarbecovirus NAbs described here is significant for the following reasons. First, we established a structure-based computational pipeline to design and optimize NAbs to obtain more potent and broader neutralizing activity across multiple sarbecoviruses. Second, we screened and identified nanobodies from a highly diversified synthetic library with a broad neutralizing spectrum using an elaborate screening strategy. These methodologies provide guidance for the rapid development of antibody therapeutics against emerging pathogens with highly variable characteristics.

Prediction of plasma trough concentration of voriconazole in adult patients using machine learning.

OBJECTIVE: Plasma trough concentration of voriconazole (VCZ) was associated with its toxicity and efficacy. However, the nonlinear pharmacokinetic characteristics of VCZ make it difficult to determine the relationship between clinical characteristics and its concentration. We intended to present a machine learning (ML)-based method to predict toxic plasma trough concentration of VCZ (>5 µg/mL). METHODS: A single center retrospective study was conducted. Three ML algorithms were used to estimate the concentration in adult patients, including random forest (RF), gradient boosting (GB), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The importance of variables was recognized by the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method. In addition, an external validation set was used to validate the robustness of models. RESULTS: A total of 1318 VCZ plasma concentration were included, with 33 variables enrolled in the model. Nine classification models were developed using the RF, GB, and XGBoost algorithms. Most models performed well for both the training set and test set, with an average balanced accuracy (BA) of 0.704 and an average accuracy (ACC) of 0.788. In addition, the average Matthews correlation coefficient value reached 0.484, which indicated the predicted values are meaningful. Based on the average BA and ACC values, the predictive ability of the models can be ranked from best to worst as follows: younger adult models > mixed models > elderly models, and XGBoost models > GBT models > RF models. The SHAP results showed that the top five influencing factors in younger adult patients (<60 years) were albumin, total bile acid (TBA), platelets count, age, and inflammation, while the top five influencing factors in elderly patients were albumin, TBA, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine, and alanine aminotransferase. Furthermore, the prediction of external validation set for VCZ concentrations verified the high reliability of the models, for the ACC value of 0.822 by the best model. CONCLUSIONS: The ML models can be reliable tools for predicting toxic concentration exposure of VCZ. The SHAP results may provide useful guidelines for dosage adjustment of VCZ.

Associated Factors and Immune Response to the Hepatitis B Vaccine with a Standard Schedule: A Prospective Study of People with HIV in China.

Hepatitis B (HB) vaccination is recommended for people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). We aimed to assess the immune response to the HB vaccine and associated factors using the standard vaccination schedule among people with HIV (PWH) in China. A prospective study was carried out from 2016 to 2020 in Beijing, China. PWH were given three 20 µg doses of recombinant HB vaccine at 0, 1, and 6 months. Blood samples were taken within 4-6 weeks after each dose to evaluate the anti-HBs levels. A total of 312 participants completed vaccination and serologic testing. The seroconversion (anti-HBs ≥ 10 IU/L) rates following the first, second, and third doses of the vaccine were 35.6% (95% CI: 30.3-40.9%), 55.1% (95% CI: 49.6-60.7%), and 86.5% (95% CI: 82.8-90.3%), respectively, and the geometric means of the anti-HBs titers were 0.8 IU/L (95% CI: 0.5-1.6 IU/L), 15.7 IU/L (95% CI: 9.4-26.3 IU/L), and 241.0 IU/L (95% CI: 170.3-341.1 IU/L), respectively. In multivariate analysis, after three doses of vaccination, age, CD4 cell count, and HIV-RNA viral load were significantly associated with strong, moderate, and weak response, respectively. These findings confirm that these personal health conditions are related to the HB response. HB vaccination in PWH using the standard schedule was still highly effective in the context of early treatment initiation, especially among participants aged 30 years and younger.

Blood cells and hematological parameters of Chiala Mountain Salamander, Batrachuperus karlschmidti (Urodela, Hynobiidae).

Hematological parameters are essential indices for assessing the function of blood and reflecting not only the health status of animal but also their physiological adaptation to the environment. Herein, the composition of blood cells and the hematological parameters of wild Batrachuperus karlschmidti were examined for the first time, and the effects of sex, body size, body mass, and age on the hematological parameters were explored. The morphology and morphometric data of the blood cells, as well as the hematological parameters, of B. karlschmidti were slightly differ from those of its congener. However, hematological differences between sexes were only found in erythrocyte and leukocyte count, and mean cell volume (MCV), which possibly reflecting the need for better oxygen distribution and stronger immune protection for reproduction. Hematocrit (Hct) and mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) were strongly dependent on body mass. These also might have been attributed to higher oxygen requirements with larger body masses. This is a pilot project exploring the hematology of this species that may help establish hematological parameters in future for supporting species protection and monitoring studies, as well as help understanding the physiological adaptation of this species.

Transcriptomic and Chromatin Accessibility Analysis of the Human Macular and Peripheral Retinal Pigment Epithelium at the Single-Cell Level.

Some human retinal diseases are characterized by pathology that is restricted to specific cell types and to specific regions of the eye. Several disease entities either selectively affect or spare the macula, the retina region at the center of the posterior pole. Photoreceptor cells in the macula are involved in high-acuity vision and require metabolic support from non-neuronal cell types. Some macular diseases involve the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), an epithelial cell layer with several metabolic-support functions essential for the overlying photoreceptors. In the current study, the ways in which RPE confers region-specific disease susceptibility were determined by examining heterogeneity within RPE tissue from human donors. RPE nuclei from the macular and peripheral retina were profiled using joint single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing. The expression of several genes differed between macular and peripheral RPE. Region-specific ATAC peaks were found, suggesting regulatory elements used exclusively by macular or peripheral RPE. Across anatomic regions, subpopulations of RPE were identified that appeared to have differential levels of expression of visual cycle genes. Finally, loci associated with age-related macular degeneration were examined for a better understanding of RPE-specific disease phenotypes. These findings showed variations in the regulation of gene expression in the human RPE by region and subpopulation, and provide a source for a better understanding of the molecular basis of macular disease.

The relationship between co-exposure to multiple heavy metals and liver damage.

BACKGROUND: The impact of heavy metal exposure on human health has attracted widespread attention of researchers, and the impact of heavy metal exposure on liver function has also been confirmed, however, more attention is paid to the impact of single or two heavy metal exposures, and most epidemiological studies focus on heavy metal pollution areas. In this study, rural residents in non-heavy metal-contaminated areas in Northwest China were selected as the research objects to explore the comprehensive effects of co-exposure to multiple heavy metals on the liver, which can provide certain reference and support for related research. OBJECTIVES: This study used a Bayesian nuclear machine model (BKMR) to evaluate the relationship between exposure to heavy metal mixtures and indicators of liver function in a population in rural Northwest China. RESULTS: Exposure to higher concentrations of metal mixtures was positively correlated with total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, and aspartate aminotransferase, and negatively correlated with alanine aminotransferase, with Pb contributing the most to indicators of liver function. We also observed a possible interaction of Cd with other heavy metals in the effect of heavy metal mixtures on DB levels. CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent exposure to higher concentrations of heavy metal mixtures (Cr, Co, Cd, and Pb) in rural China was associated with indicators representing poor liver function, of which the effect of lead on liver function should be focused. More prospective epidemiological studies and animal experiments need to be carried out to determine this relationship and possible mechanism.

Injectable carboxymethyl chitosan-based hydrogel for simultaneous anti-tumor recurrence and anti-bacterial applications.

The postoperative recurrence has adversely affected the treatment of tumors. Besides, the potential bacterial infection at the wound site may lead to a series of tissue necrosis. Here, we developed an injectable γ-polyglutamic acid/carboxymethyl chitosan/polydopamine hydrogel (PCP) for simultaneously reducing the postoperative infection and preventing the tumor recurrence. On the one hand, the aqueous solution of carboxymethyl chitosan oxidized the dopamine into polydopamine; on the other, the carboxymethyl chitosan was cross-linked with the activated γ-polyglutamic acid to form a hydrogel. After local implantation, the PCP hydrogel effectively killed tumor cells and bacteria under 808 nm laser irradiation. In addition, carboxymethyl chitosan rendered the hydrogel with anti-bacterial properties as well as anti-tumor efficiencies. The anti-tumor recurrence and anti-bacterial efficiencies of PCP hydrogel were proved on a tumor-removed mouse model and a Staphylococcus aureus-infected mouse model, respectively. Moreover, the hydrogel has the advantages of good biocompatibility and simple preparation, and thus has potential application prospects in the prevention of tumor recurrence and wound bacterial infection.

A conductive gelatin methacrylamide hydrogel for synergistic therapy of osteosarcoma and potential bone regeneration.

In this study, a methacrylic gelatin/oxidized dextran/montmorillonite­strontium/polypyrrole (GOMP) hydrogel was prepared. The GOMP hydrogel had dual network structure which was formed through photoinitiator-initiated double bond polymerization and Schiff base reaction. The network structure led to a sustained release of the antitumor drug, doxorubicin (DOX). Polypyrrole introduced the conductivity and high photothermal conversion capacity to the GOMP hydrogel, which showed a photothermal conversion efficiency of 31.61 % under 808 nm laser radiation. The GOMP hydrogel had good swelling properties in solvents. Further study showed that the GOMP hydrogel had good biocompatibility and excellent biodegradability in vitro and in vivo. The experiments of in vitro tumor therapy and in vivo anti-tumor recurrence indicated that the DOX-loaded GOMP hydrogel had synergistic effects on tumor cell apoptosis based on chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. In addition, montmorillonite­strontium (MMT-Sr) doped in the hydrogel not only improved the mechanical properties of the hydrogel but also promoted potential bone regeneration. The multifunctional DOX-loaded GOMP hydrogel with bone regeneration, photothermal therapy, and chemotherapy functions has great potential application for treating osteosarcoma.

Dual-color aggregation-induced emission nanoparticles for simultaneous lateral flow immunoassay of nitrofuran metabolites in aquatic products.

Nitrofurans such as furaltadone and nitrofurantoin are a type of synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotics. Various fluorescent nanomaterials have been used as labeling materials in immunochromatographic assays (ICAs) for nitrofurans detection. However, previous fluorescent nanomaterials can undergo aggregation-caused quenching, leading to a decrease in the detection sensitivity. In this study, we developed a multiplex immunochromatographic assay (mICA) based on dual-color aggregation-induced emission nanoparticles (AIENPs) as signal labels for the simultaneous detection of 3-amino-5-morpholino-methyl-1,3-oxazolidinone (AMOZ) and 1-aminohydantoin (AHD), which were the metabolites of furaltadone and nitrofurantoin, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the cut-off values of the mICA for derivatized AMOZ (2-NP-AMOZ) and AHD (2-NP-AHD) reached up to 3 and 5 ng/mL, respectively. These values are at least 166-and 200-fold higher than those of the commercial gold nanoparticles (GNPs)-based test strip, respectively. Furthermore, the test strip was successfully applied to the samples, with acceptable recoveries in the range of 83.0-98.2%.