Emerging trends in the cystatin C sensing technologies: towards better chronic kidney disease management.

Cystatin C (CysC), a protein, has replaced creatinine as a biomarker of kidney function and other diseases and has led to a surge in the research on the development of efficient CysC biosensors. The current CysC sensing technologies are remarkable in terms of selectivity and reproducibility. However, the complexity, cost, and space requirements of these methods render them unsuitable for real-time monitoring or point-of-care (PoC) implementations in healthcare settings.

Dithiocarbamate-Based Sequence-Defined Oligomers as Promising Membrane-Disrupting Antibacterial Agents: Design, Activity, and Mechanism.

The emerging prevalence of antimicrobial resistance demands cutting-edge therapeutic agents to treat bacterial infections. We present a synthetic strategy to construct sequence-defined oligomers (SDOs) by using dithiocarbamate (DTC). The antibacterial activity of the synthesized library of SDOs was studied using a Gram-positive and a Gram-negative .

Probing the Self-Aggregation of l-Tryptophan into Spherical Microstructures and Their Selective Interactions with Bilirubin.

The aggregation of proteins, peptides and amino acids has been a keen subject of interest owing to their implications in metabolic disorders. In this work, we investigated the self-aggregation of the unmodified aromatic amino acid l-tryptophan (Trp) into unusual spherical microstructures. Using fluorescence spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), we detail the time-dependent transformation of monomeric tryptophan into spherical aggregates with distinct fluorescence characteristics (λ = 345 nm, λ = 430 nm) compared to the monomer.

An overview of the use of non-titanium MXenes for photothermal therapy and their combinatorial approaches for cancer treatment.

Since the initial publication on the first TiCT MXene in 2011, there has been a significant increase in the number of reports on applications of MXenes in various domains. MXenes have emerged as highly promising materials for various biomedical applications, including photothermal therapy (PTT), drug delivery, diagnostic imaging, and biosensing, owing to their fascinating conductivity, mechanical strength, biocompatibility and hydrophilicity. Through surface modification, MXenes can mitigate cytotoxicity, enhance biological stability, and improve histocompatibility, thereby enabling their potential use in biomedical applications.

Trends in ready-to-use portable electrochemical sensing devices for healthcare diagnosis.

Compared with previous decades, healthcare has emerged as a key global concern in light of the recurrent outbreak of pandemics. The initial stage in the provision of healthcare involves the process of diagnosis. Countries worldwide advocate for healthcare research due to its efficacy and capacity to assist diverse populations.

Eco-friendly synthesis of a porous reduced graphene oxide-polypyrrole-gold nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposite for electrochemical detection of methotrexate using a strip sensor.

Chemotherapy is a crucial cancer treatment, but its effectiveness requires precise monitoring of drug concentrations in patients. This study introduces an innovative electrochemical strip sensor design to detect and continuously monitor methotrexate (MTX), a key chemotherapeutic drug. The sensor is crafted through an eco-friendly synthesis process that produces porous reduced graphene oxide (PrGO), which is then integrated with gold nanocomposites and polypyrrole (PPy) to boost the performance of a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE).

Unraveling the potential contribution of DHHC2 in cancer biology via untargeted metabolomics.

DHHC-mediated protein-S-palmitoylation is recognized as a distinct and reversible lipid modification, playing a pivotal role in the progression and prevention of multiple diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Over the past decade, growing evidence indicated the crucial role of DHHC2 in preventing tumorigenesis by palmitoylation of various protein substrates. However, a comprehensive understanding of the specific impact of DHHC2 on cancer cell metabolic regulation remains unclear.

A topic modeling approach for analyzing and categorizing electronic healthcare documents in Afaan Oromo without label information.

Afaan Oromo is a resource-scarce language with limited tools developed for its processing, posing significant challenges for natural language tasks. The tools designed for English do not work efficiently for Afaan Oromo due to the linguistic differences and lack of well-structured resources. To address this challenge, this work proposes a topic modeling framework for unstructured health-related documents in Afaan Oromo using latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) algorithms.

Nitric oxide modelling and its bioavailability influenced by red blood cells.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important vasodilator responsible for maintaining vascular tone in the human body. Its production in endothelial cells (ECs) is regulated by the rise of cytoplasmic Ca concentration and shear stress perceived by blood flow. The increase in cytoplasmic Ca concentration is mainly activated by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) released from red blood cells (RBCs) and ECs.

Non-Ti MXenes: new biocompatible and biodegradable candidates for biomedical applications.

MXenes are a class of two-dimensional nanomaterials with the general formula MXT, where M denotes a transition metal, X denotes either carbon or nitrogen and T refers to surface terminations, such as -OH, -O, -F or -Cl. The unique properties of MXenes, including their tunable surface chemistry and high surface area-to-volume ratio, make them promising candidates for various biomedical applications, such as targeted drug delivery, photothermal therapy and so on. Among the family of MXenes, titanium (Ti)-based MXenes, especially TiCT, have been extensively explored for biomedical applications.

Fluorescent Macrocycles with Customizable Backbone: Design, Synthesis, and Detection of Explosive Picric Acid.

Synthesis of size and functional-group tunable dansyl-appended fluorescent macrocycles , , , , , and using click reaction is reported. Macrocycles were extensively characterized by using various spectroscopic and theoretical techniques. Fluorescent macrocycles showed positive-solvatofluorism, high quantum yields, and strong interactions with nitroaromatic-explosives.

Facile synthesis of corticiolic acid-a bioactive pharmacophore from natural sources.

Fungal strains have inspired us to find the untapped sources of secondary metabolites. Corticiolic acid (CA, 2,4-dihydroxy-6-pentadecylbenzoic acid; from fungus, ) is one of the core active scaffolds in natural compounds such as Aquastatin-A, B, & C. CA can also be isolated from the plant .

Wearable threads for monitoring sanitizer quality using dye displacement assay.

This study employs zero-cost (≈0.01 $) and durable thread-based devices to evaluate the quality of simulated and commercial sanitizer samples through dye displacement assay (DDA). A diverse range of sanitizer compositions, including ethanol concentrations of 55%, 75%, and 95% (v/v), were analysed.

Designer Helical Fibers and Tubes: Self-assembling Hybrid Peptides via Leu/Ile-Phe Zipper.

Here, we present a family of simple peptides that show diverse self-assembling behaviors. We used aliphatic (Leu/Ile) and aromatic (Phe) amino acids to delineate our design. The design consists of phenylene urea at the N-terminus of the peptide.

The Yin and Yang of TLR4 in COVID-19.

Various pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), including toll-like receptors (TLRs), play a crucial role in recognizing invading pathogens as well as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released in response to infection. The resulting signaling cascades initiate appropriate immune responses to eliminate these pathogens. Current evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2-driven activation of TLR4, whether through direct recognition of the spike glycoprotein (alone or in combination with endotoxin) or by sensing various TLR4-activating DAMPs or alarmins released during viral infection, acts as a critical mediator of antiviral immunity.

Selective and naked eye colorimetric detection of creatinine through aptamer-based target-induced passivation of gold nanoparticles.

We report a simple naked eye colorimetric detection assay developed for the small molecule creatinine using the surface passivation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) which is conjugated with a creatinine binding aptamer. The selective binding of creatinine to aptamer sequences causes a decrease in the catalytic activity of AuNPs, and the color change time of the 4-nitrophenol reduction was used for the quantitative colorimetric detection of creatinine. Herein, the surfaces of AuNPs acted as the catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (yellow) to 4-aminophenol (colorless), and the passivation with creatinine bound aptamer sequences delayed the reduction.

Memory of shear flow in soft jammed materials.

Cessation of flow in yield stress fluids results in a stress relaxation process that eventually leads to a finite residual stress. Both the rate of stress relaxation and the magnitude of the residual stresses systematically depend on the preceding flow conditions. To assess the microscopic origin of this memory effect, we combine experiments with large-scale computer simulations, exploring the behavior of jammed suspensions of soft repulsive particles.

Solid-State Fluorescent Organic Polymers for Visual Detection and Elimination of Heavy Metals in Water.

Selective sensing and removal of toxic heavy metals from water are highly essential since their presence poses significant health and environmental hazards. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel fluorescent nonconjugated organic polymer by strategically incorporating two key functional groups, namely, a dansyl fluorophore and dithiocarbamate (DTC). Different characterization techniques, including H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and fluorescence spectroscopy, were performed to understand its structure and material properties.

Water vapor responsiveness of chitosan: An experimental and simulation analysis.

Stimuli-responsive polymers have gained significant research interest in recent years owing to their potential applications in diverse areas. Here, we present a study on the actuation characteristics of chitosan-based free-standing films that exhibit full reversibility and repeatability in response to water vapor exposure. The effect of pH of the water and the degree of cross-linking of the chitosan films on the actuation performance is studied.

Designer pseudopeptides: autofluorescent polygonal tubes Phe-zipper and triple helix.

Chemists are increasingly turning to biology for inspiration to develop novel and superior synthetic materials. Here, we present an innovative peptide design strategy for tubular assembly. In this simple design, a phenylene urea unit is introduced as an aglet at the N-terminus of the peptide.

Comparative Analysis of the Aspergillus fumigatus Cell Wall Modification and Ensuing Human Dendritic Cell Responses by β-(1,3)-Glucan Synthase Inhibitors-Caspofungin and Enfumafungin.

Caspofungin, a lipopeptide, is an antifungal drug that belong to the class of echinocandin. It inhibits fungal cell wall β-(1,3)-glucan synthase activity and is the second-line of drug for invasive aspergillosis, a fatal infection caused mainly by Aspergillus fumigatus. On the other hand, Enfumafungin is a natural triterpene glycoside also with a β-(1,3)-glucan synthase inhibitory activity and reported to have antifungal potential.

Lipophilic derivatives of EGCG as potent α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors ameliorating oxidative stress and inflammation.

Uncontrolled hyperglycemia leads to increased oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance, rendering diabetes management harder to accomplish. To tackle these myriads of challenges, researchers strive to explore innovative multifaceted treatment strategies, including inhibiting carbohydrate hydrolases. Herein, we report alkyl-ether EGCG derivatives as potent α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors that could simultaneously ameliorate oxidative stress and inflammation.

Zn(II)-Curcumin Complexes-Based Anticancer Agents.

There is a great deal of research interest in the design of alternative metallodrugs to Pt(II)-derivatives for cancer treatment. The low solubility of such drugs in biological mediums leading to poor bioavailability is the major hurdle of several metal-based anticancer agents. These issues have recently been addressed by designing bio-active ligands based on metal-containing anticancer agents.