The comparative of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticle versus ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid on the smear layer removal: A systematic review and meta-analysis of in vitro study.

The purpose of this systematic review of meta-analysis was to compare the effectiveness of removing the smearing layer using EDTA versus Chitosan (Ch) and Chitosan nanoparticles (Ch-NPs). A search was performed in four electronic databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane). The included studies were assessed by two reviewers using Joanna Briggs Institute's critical appraisal checklist for the quasi-experimental studies. Outcomes obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and conventional methods were presented as standardized mean differences alongside 95% confidence intervals. Seven investigations employed 212 single-root teeth. In the apical section (p = .317, 95% CI = -0.820 to 0.266, Tau2 = 0.387), middle segment (p = .914, 95% CI = -1.019 to 0.912, Tau2 = 1.027), and coronal segment (p = .277, 95% CI = -1.008 to 0.289, Tau2 = 0.378). This meta-analysis found no difference between Ch, Ch-NPs, and EDTA in removing the smear layer in the three segments. This systematic review is designed to show evidence related to the PICO question, in which our outcome is smear layer removal and not the clinical success of such a treatment. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in removing the smear layer, a layer of debris and organic material on the tooth surface, through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The removal of the smear layer is crucial for successful dental treatments, as it enhances the adhesion of restorative materials and improves the penetration of antimicrobial agents into dentinal tubules. The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis, searching various databases of electron microscopy results for relevant in vitro studies comparing the effects of chitosan or chitosan nanoparticles with EDTA on smear layer removal. The results encourage further exploration of chitosan and chitosan nanoparticles for clinical use in dentistry, while considering their specific applications and long-term effects.

Principles, Methods, and Real-Time Applications of Bacteriophage-Based Pathogen Detection.

Bacterial pathogens in water, food, and the environment are spreading diseases around the world. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, waterborne pathogens pose the most significant global health risks to living organisms, including humans and animals. Conventional bacterial detection approaches such as colony counting, microscopic analysis, biochemical analysis, and molecular analysis are expensive, time-consuming, less sensitive, and require a pre-enrichment step. However, the bacteriophage-based detection of pathogenic bacteria is a robust approach that utilizes bacteriophages, which are viruses that specifically target and infect bacteria, for rapid and accurate detection of targets. This review shed light on cutting-edge technologies about the novel structure of phages and the immobilization process on the surface of electrodes to detect targeted bacterial cells. Similarly, the purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive assessment of bacteriophage-based biosensors utilized for pathogen detection, as well as their trends, outcomes, and problems. This review article summaries current phage-based pathogen detection strategies for the development of low-cost lab-on-chip (LOC) and point-of-care (POC) devices using electrochemical and optical methods such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Exploring the Potential of Thymoquinone-Stabilized Selenium Nanoparticles: In HEC1B Endometrial Cancer Cells Revealing Enhanced Anticancer Efficacy.

The aim of this research is to examine the potential anticancer properties of thymoquinone (TQ)-encapsulated selenium nanoparticles (TQ-SeNPs) in HEC1B endometrial carcinoma cells. TQ-SeNPs were synthesized, and their size, morphology, and elemental analysis were characterized. Morphological changes were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cytotoxicity and viability of nanothymoquinone were assessed by the XTT (2,3-bis (2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5 carboxanilide) assay. Gene expressions and protein levels of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway were analyzed by real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The decrease in the viability of HEC1B endometrial carcinoma cells was observed in a time- and dose-dependent manner. HEC-1B cells were treated with TQ-SeNP at 40-640 µg/mL concentrations and time intervals, and their viability was assessed by XTT assay. IC50 doses of TQ-SeNP in HEC1B cells were detected as 526.45 µg/mL at 48th hour. ELISA indicated that TQ-SeNP treatment reduced the level of p38 MAPK. ERK2, MEK2, and NFKB (p65) mRNA expressions were decreased in the dose group administered TQ-SeNP at the 48th hour compared to that in the control group. However, it was not significant. The novel nanoparticle showed an antiproliferative effect in endometrial cancer cells. However, further studies are needed to increase the anticancer activity of the cell in the TQ-SeNP interaction.

Nanoarchitectonics of the Effects of Curcumin Carbon Dot-Decorated Chitosan Nanoparticles on Proliferation and Apoptosis-Related Gene Expressions in HepG2 Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells.

This study examines the potential anticancer properties of curcumin carbon nanodot-decorated chitosan nanoparticles (CCM@CD/CS-NP) in HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. CCM@CD/CS-NPs were synthesized, and their size, morphology, and elemental analysis were characterized. The combination of curcumin carbon dots and chitosan in the form of a nanoparticle has a number of benefits, including improved solubility and bioavailability of curcumin, enhanced stability and biocompatibility of carbon dots, and sustained release of the drug due to the mucoadhesive properties of chitosan. The purpose of this research was to examine the efficacy of curcumin carbon dot-decorated chitosan nanoparticles as an anticancer agent in the treatment of HepG2 cell lines. The cell proliferation and apoptosis-related gene expressions in HepG2 cells were assessed to investigate the potential use of nanoparticles in vitro. The IC50 value for the inhibitory effect of CCM@CD/CS-NPs on cell growth and proliferation was determined to be 323.61 µg/mL at 24 h and 267.73 µg/mL at 48 h. Increased caspase-3 and -9 activation shows that CCM@CD/CS-NPs promoted apoptosis in HepG2 cells. It was also shown that the overexpression of Bax and the downregulation of Bcl-2 were responsible for the apoptotic impact of CCM@CD/CS-NPs. The nanoparticles have been shown to have minimal toxicity to normal liver cells, indicating their potential as a safe and effective treatment for HepG2. These novel nanomaterials effectively suppressed tumor development and boosted the rate of apoptotic cell death.

To what extent are orally ingested nanoplastics toxic to the hippocampus in young adult rats?

As the use of plastic-containing materials in our daily lives becomes increasingly common, exposure to nanoplastics accordingly becomes inevitable. Micro and nanoplastics released from large amounts of plastic waste constitute a serious environmental problem. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of polystyrene nanoplastic (PS-NP) on the hippocampus. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty Wistar albino rats, 15 male and 15 female, aged 6-8 weeks, were used in the research. These were randomly divided into three groups of five males and five females each. A five-minute open field test was applied to all rats on the first and last days of the study. Three groups of rats (Control, NP1 and NP2) received the standard chow and water. Additionally, rats in the first neoplastic group (NP1) received 25 mg/kg PS-NP and rats in the second nanoplastic group (NP2) received 50 mg/kg PS-NP, at the same time each day by oral gavage. The rats were sacrificed under deep anesthesia at the end of four weeks. The hippocampi were removed and subjected to histopathological and biochemical analyses. RESULTS: Green fluorescent dots were detected in the hippocampi of both dose groups receiving nanoplastics (NPs) administered orally to female and male rats. Histopathological examination revealed neuronal degeneration in the hippocampi of male and female rats from both dose groups. However, while no significant difference was observed among the groups in terms of changes in antioxidant enzyme values and open-field test data in male rats, significant differences in peroxidase (POD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) values and fecal boli and grooming numbers were determined in female rats exposed to NPs. In conclusion, exposure to NP substances extend as far as the hippocampus, causing neuronal damage and behavioral problems.

Fluorescent and Biocompatible Nitrogen and Sulfur Co-Doped Carbon Nanodot as an Ocular Fundus Angiography Imaging Agent.

The florescence characteristics and the toxicities of carbon nanodots (CDs) are directly related to their elemental compositions. Fluorescent and non-toxic agent for imaging of biological systems was aimed. Sulfur and nitrogen co-doped CDs (S/N-CDs) was hydrothermally produced in an average size of 8 nm. S/N-CDs showed blue fluorescence under UV-light with an excitation wavelength of 365 nm. After 24 h, S/N-CDs was non-cytotoxic in HUVEC and L929 cells. S/N-CDs have a great potential to act as an alternative material for commercial fluorescent materials with its 85.5% of quantum yield. S/N-CDs was approved in vitro as an imaging agent for an ocular fundus angiography of rats.

Replacement of antibodies with bacteriophages in lateral flow assay of Salmonella Enteritidis.

In this study, the analytical performance of bacteriophages for Salmonella Enteritidis was investigated using lateral flow assay (LFA) technique. The analytical performance characteristics of bacteriophages were compared with antibodies which are regularly used as analyte-specific agents in the lateral flow immunoassay test strip. Bacteriophages could be an alternative analyte-specific agents to antibodies in lateral flow assay testing of bacteria since they offer comparable sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. In the present study, Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and colorimetric measurements were combined in one platform and sensitive quantitation of target bacteria was accomplished with a total quantitative analysis time of less than 30 min. The developed Salmonella Enteritidis F5-4 phage-based LFA specifically responds to Salmonella Enteritidis, while lower SERS responses to different bacteria types including Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium were observed. The developed test strips were also applied for the determination of Salmonella Enteritidis in spiked chicken and egg samples.

A disposable gold-cellulose nanofibril platform for SERS mapping.

In this study, we present a disposable and inexpensive paper-like gold nanoparticle-embedded cellulose nanofibril substrate for the rapid enumeration of Escherichia coli (E. coli) using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) mapping. A disposable SERS substrate was simply constructed by mixing CNF and gold chloride solution at 120 °C in a water bath. The application of the resulting substrate was carried out by enrichment and SERS detection of E. coli. To this end, the spherical gold nanoparticle-embedded cellulose nanofibril substrate was used as a scavenger for E. coli. After the target bacteria E. coli were separated from the matrix via oriented antibodies, the sandwich assay procedure was carried out using 5,5-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB)-coated Au nanorod particles that acted as SERS mapping probes. The distribution density of DTNB was demonstrated visually using SERS mapping, and the assay was completed in one hour. The correlation between the E. coli and SERS mapping signals was found to be linear within the range of 15 cfu mL-1 to 1.5 × 105 cfu mL-1. The limit of detection for the SERS mapping assay was determined to be 2 cfu mL-1. The selectivity of the developed method was examined with Micrococcus luteus (M. luteus), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), and Enterobacter aerogenes (E. aerogenes), which did not produce any significant response. Furthermore, the developed method was evaluated for detecting E. coli in artificially contaminated samples, and the results were compared with those of the plate-counting method.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy as a novel tool for rapid quantification of heroin and metabolites in saliva

Background: Heroin can be detected and quantified by certain analytical methods, however, forensic professionals and criminal laboratories study for cheaper and faster detection tools. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) rises as a possible alternative tool with its widening application spectra. There are few studies regarding Raman and SERS spectra of heroin and its metabolites, which are unfortunately controversial. In this study, we compared five different surfaces in order to find out more efficient Raman-active substrate for opiate detection and rapid quantification of heroin and its metabolites in saliva. Materials and methods: Morphine standard material was used to identify proper surface for SERS analysis of opiates. Heroin and its metabolites (morphine, morphine-3-ß-glucuronide and 6-monoacetyl morphine) were calibrated between 50 ppb and 500 ppm and quantified on AuNRs with signal enhancement of silver colloids in saliva. Raman microscope with a 785-nm laser source was used. Results and Conclusion: Obtained results showed that heroin and its metabolites can be detected and quantified in saliva samples using a SERS-based system. Additionally, the present study revealed that synergetic effect of a specific gold nano-surface with ability controlling liquid motion and silver nanoparticles increase band numbers and intensities. Therefore, we suggest a fast, accurate and cost-effective method to detect and quantify heroin in biological fluids

The coupling of immunomagnetic enrichment of bacteria with paper-based platform.

In this study, the coupling of magnetic enrichment of bacteria from real samples with rapid surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) detection was reported. The selective isolation and enrichment for the model bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) was performed using E. coli (primary) antibody bound-magnetic gold (Fe3O4@Au) nanoparticles. Following isolation and enrichment, the rennet enzyme was used to cleave of casein modified Fe3O4/Au-PEI nanoparticles from primary antibody-bound bacteria to prevent the nanoparticle aggregation and provide the movement of bacteria on nitrocellulose membrane. In the first part of the study, optimization studies were carried out namely; the amounts of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), polyethyleneimine coated magnetic gold (Fe3O4/Au-PEI) nanoparticles, casein and rennet enzyme. The SERS signals of DTNB (5,5'-Dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid)) molecule were collected on the test line and a calibration curve was plotted by using signal intensities. The correlation between the concentration of E. coli and SERS signal was found to be linear within the range of 101-107 cfu/mL (R2 = 0.984, LOD = 0.52 cfu/mL and LOQ = 1.57 cfu/mL). The selectivity of the paper-based lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) was examined with Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), Micrococcus luteus (M. luteus), Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) which did not produce any significant response compared with E. coli measurement. Finally, the developed paper-based LFIA was tested with urine and milk samples. The obtained SERS results were compared with a plate counting method results which were in a good accordance. The developed method was found as rapid and sensitive to E. coli with a total analysis time of less than 60 min.

Comparative DNA isolation behaviours of silica and polymer based sorbents in batch fashion: monodisperse silica microspheres with bimodal pore size distribution as a new sorbent for DNA isolation.

Monodisperse silica microspheres with bimodal pore-size distribution were proposed as a high performance sorbent for DNA isolation in batch fashion under equilibrium conditions. The proposed sorbent including both macroporous and mesoporous compartments was synthesized 5.1 µm in-size, by a "staged shape templated hydrolysis and condensation method". Hydrophilic polymer based sorbents were also obtained in the form of monodisperse-macroporous microspheres ca 5.5 µm in size, with different functionalities, by a developed "multi-stage microsuspension copolymerization" technique. The batch DNA isolation performance of proposed material was comparatively investigated using polymer based sorbents with similar morphologies. Among all sorbents tried, the best DNA isolation performance was achieved with the monodisperse silica microspheres with bimodal pore size distribution. The collocation of interconnected mesoporous and macroporous compartments within the monodisperse silica microspheres provided a high surface area and reduced the intraparticular mass transfer resistance and made easier both the adsorption and desorption of DNA. Among the polymer based sorbents, higher DNA isolation yields were achieved with the monodisperse-macroporous polymer microspheres carrying trimethoxysilyl and quaternary ammonium functionalities. However, batch DNA isolation performances of polymer based sorbents were significantly lower with respect to the silica microspheres.

Determination of TiO2 and AgTiO2 Nanoparticles in Artemia salina: Toxicity, Morphological Changes, Uptake and Depuration.

In this study, aquatic stability and toxic effects of TiO2 and AgTiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated on Artemia salina nauplii. AgTiO2 was found to be more toxic to nauplii compared to TiO2. The mortality rate in nauplii increased significantly with increasing concentrations and duration of exposure. TiO2 eliminations ranged between 27.8% and 96.5% at 50 and 1 mg/L TiO2 exposed to nauplii, respectively. Accumulation and elimination of Ag in AgTiO2 exposed nauplii were similar except at 1 mg/L AgTiO2. When NPs were mixed with water, the hydrodynamic dimensions of NPs significantly increased because of aggregation in saltwater but NP size decreased over time. NPs-exposed nauplii showed changes in eye formation, enlargement of the intestine, malformations in the outer shell and antennae loss were also observed. Since accumulation and toxicity of AgTiO2 NPs was higher than TiO2 alone, inevitably release of AgTiO2 into aqueous environments can cause ecological risks.