Plasmonic Gold Nanostar-Based Probes with Distance-Dependent Plasmon-Enhanced Fluorescence for Ultrasensitive DNA Methyltransferase Assay.

The ultrasensitive DNA methyltransferase (Dam MTase) assay is of high significance for biomedical research and clinical diagnosis because of its profound effect on gene regulation. However, detection sensitivity is still limited by shortcomings, including photobleaching and weak signal intensities of conventional fluorophores at low concentrations. Plasmonic nanostructures with ultrastrong electromagnetic fields and fluorescence enhancement capability that can overcome these intrinsic defects hold great potential for ultrasensitive bioanalysis. Herein, a silica-coated gold nanostars (Au NSTs@SiO2)-based plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF) probe with 20 "hot spots" was developed for ultrasensitive detection of Dam MTase. Here, the Dam Mtase assay was achieved by detecting the byproduct PPi of the rolling circle amplification reaction. It is worth noting that, benefiting from the excellent fluorescence enhancement capability of Au NSTs originating from their 20 "hot spots", the detection limit of Dam Mtase was reduced by nearly 105 times. Moreover, the proposed Au NST-based PEF probe enabled versatile evaluation of Dam MTase inhibitors as well as endogenous Dam MTase detection in GW5100 and JM110 Escherichia coli cell lysates, demonstrating its potential in biomedical analysis.

Light and endogenous enzyme triggered plasmonic antennas for accurate subcellular molecular imaging with enhanced spatial resolution.

Developing accurate tumor-specific molecular imaging approaches holds great potential for evaluating cancer progression. However, traditional molecular imaging approaches still suffer from restricted tumor specificity due to the "off-tumor" signal leakage. In this work, we proposed light and endogenous APE1-triggered plasmonic antennas for accurate tumor-specific subcellular molecular imaging with enhanced spatial resolution. Light activation ensures subcellular molecular imaging and endogenous enzyme activation ensures tumor-specific molecular imaging. In addition, combined with the introduction of plasmon enhanced fluorescence (PEF), off-tumor signal leakage at the subcellular level was effectively reduced, resulting in the significantly enhanced discrimination ratio of tumor/normal cells (∼11.57-fold) which is better than in previous reports, demonstrating great prospects of these plasmonic antennas triggered by light and endogenous enzymes for tumor-specific molecular imaging at the subcellular level.

High Neutrophil-to-Albumin Ratio Predicts Postoperative Pneumonia in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background and Aim: There is still an absence of objective and easily accessible biomarkers despite the variety of risk factors associated with postoperative pneumonia (POP) in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). In the present study, we have thus evaluated the relationship between the neutrophil-to-albumin ratio (NAR) and POP in patients with aSAH. Methods: Several consecutive patients (n = 395) who had undergone clipping or coiling of the aneurism were retrospectively assessed, of which we were able to analyze the existing population data and the related baseline variables. The patients were divided into POP and revealed not to occur. To identify independent predictors, we used the recipient operation feature (receiver operating characteristic, ROC) curve and a logic regression analysis. Results: This cohort was based on POP that occurred in 78 out of the 395 patients (19.7%), and these revealed a significantly higher NAR than those without (0.31 [0.25-0.39] vs. 0.23 [0.18-0.28]; p < 0.001). On the other hand, a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NAR (odds ratio = 1.907; 95% confidence interval, 1.232-2.953; p = 0.004) was independently associated with a POP after due adjustment for confounders. Moreover, the predictive performances of NAR for POP were also significant (area under the ROC curve [95% CI] 0.775 [0.717-0.832]; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The elevation of NAR at admission in patients with aSAH might help predict POP.

Neutrophil-to-albumin ratio as a novel marker predicting unfavorable outcome in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Compelling evidence shows that inflammation contributes to the development of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Several studies have conducted in the recent past have revealed that the neutrophil-to-albumin ratio (NAR) is a new marker of inflammation. However, whether NAR can predict the prognosis of patients with aSAH has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between NAR and prognosis of aSAH. METHODS: A total of 555 consecutive patients diagnosed with aSAH were retrospectively enrolled. The NAR was assessed for each patient upon admission. At the same time, the demographic and clinical parameters of patients were collected. The Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS, a score of 1-3) at 3 months was used to evaluate disease outcomes. RESULTS: Patients with unfavorable outcomes at 3 months were considerably older, had high levels of intraventricular and subarachnoidal hemorrhage, exhibited severe clinical conditions at admission, developed in-hospital complications, such as pneumonia and delayed cerebral ischemia. At admission, the NAR for GOS scores 4-5 was median [IQR] 0.231 [0.177-0.288] whereas that for GOS score 1-3 was 0.349 [0.264-4.449]; p < 0.001. The analysis revealed that the NAR was independently associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with aSAH after adjusting for potential confounding factors (risk ratio [95% CI] 3.554 [2.601-4.857] per 0.1-point increment; p < 0.001). Moreover, a NAR of 0.274 was determined to be the best cutoff threshold for distinguishing between favorable and unfavorable outcomes in ROC analyses (AUC [95% CI] 0.782 [0.740-0.823]; p < 0.001; GOS 3-5: NAR ≥ 0.274 134/247 [54.3%] vs NAR < 0.274 47/308 [15.3%]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that NAR may be a novel prognostic marker in patients with aSAH. Elevated NAR is an independent factor predicting unfavorable outcome in patients with aSAH.

Neutrophil-to-Albumin Ratio as a Biomarker of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: This study set out to investigate the relationships between the neutrophil-to-albumin ratio (NAR) in the early stages of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and the occurrence of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). METHODS: A total of 439 patients with aSAH were included in this retrospective study. NAR assessment was conducted on admission. The relationship between NAR and DCI was analyzed. RESULTS: Eighty-four patients (23.7%) experienced DCI. NAR levels were significantly higher in patients with DCI after aSAH than without DCI (median [interquartile range] 0.350 [0.274-0.406] vs. 0.240 [0.186-0.300]; P < 0.001). NAR levels were correlated with World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) grade and modified Fisher (mFisher) grade (r = 0.505 and 0.394, respectively). NAR and mFisher grade were the independent predictors of DCI. Under receiver operating characteristic curve, NAR levels exhibited a significant discriminatory capability (area under the curve [95% confidence interval] 0.812 [0.740-0.823]; P < 0.001). The predictive power of NAR levels was similar to mFisher grade (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: NAR, in positive correlation with the severity of hemorrhage, appears to be a novel predictive biomarker of DCI after aSAH.