In Vitro Inhibitory Analysis of Rationally Designed siRNAs against MERS-CoV Replication in Huh7 Cells

MERS-CoV was identified for the first time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2012 in a hospitalized patient. This virus subsequently spread to 27 countries with a total of 939 deaths and 2586 confirmed cases and now has become a serious concern globally. Camels are well known for the transmission of the virus to the human population. In this report, we have discussed the prediction, designing, and evaluation of potential siRNA targeting the ORF1ab gene for the inhibition of MERS-CoV replication. The online software, siDirect 2.0 was used to predict and design the siRNAs, their secondary structure and their target accessibility. ORF1ab gene folding was performed by RNAxs and RNAfold software. A total of twenty-one siRNAs were selected from 462 siRNAs according to their scoring and specificity. siRNAs were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxicity and antiviral efficacy in Huh7 cell line. No significant cytotoxicity was observed for all siRNAs in Huh7 cells. The in vitro study showed the inhibition of viral replication by three siRNAs. The data generated in this study provide preliminary and encouraging information to evaluate the siRNAs separately as well as in combination against MERS-CoV replication in other cell lines. The prediction of siRNAs using online software resulted in the filtration and selection of potential siRNAs with high accuracy and strength. This computational approach resulted in three effective siRNAs that can be taken further to in vivo animal studies and can be used to develop safe and effective antiviral therapies for other prevalent disease-causing viruses.     

Formulation of Piperine–Chitosan-Coated Liposomes: Characterization and In Vitro Cytotoxic Evaluation

The present research work is designed to prepare and evaluate piperine liposomes and piperine–chitosan-coated liposomes for oral delivery. Piperine (PPN) is a water-insoluble bioactive compound used for different diseases. The prepared formulations were evaluated for physicochemical study, mucoadhesive study, permeation study and in vitro cytotoxic study using the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Piperine-loaded liposomes (PLF) were prepared by the thin-film evaporation method. The selected liposomes were coated with chitosan (PLFC) by electrostatic deposition to enhance the mucoadhesive property and in vitro therapeutic efficacy. Based on the findings of the study, the prepared PPN liposomes (PLF3) and chitosan coated PPN liposomes (PLF3C1) showed a nanometric size range of 165.7 ± 7.4 to 243.4 ± 7.5, a narrow polydispersity index (>0.3) and zeta potential (−7.1 to 29.8 mV). The average encapsulation efficiency was found to be between 60 and 80% for all prepared formulations. The drug release and permeation study profile showed biphasic release behavior and enhanced PPN permeation. The in vitro antioxidant study results showed a comparable antioxidant activity with pure PPN. The anticancer study depicted that the cell viability assay of tested PLF3C2 has significantly (p < 0.001)) reduced the IC₅₀ when compared with pure PPN. The study revealed that oral chitosan-coated liposomes are a promising delivery system for the PPN and can increase the therapeutic efficacy against the breast cancer cell line.     

Dual gold nanoparticle lateflow immunoassay for sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7

Two patterns of signal amplification lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), which used anti-mouse secondary antibody-linked gold nanoparticle (AuNP) for dual AuNP-LFIA were developed. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was selected as the model analyte. In the signal amplification direct LFIA method, anti-mouse secondary antibody-linked AuNP (anti-mouse-Ab-AuNP) was mixed with sample solution in an ELISA well, after which it was added to LFIA, which already contained anti-E. coli O157:H7 monoclonal antibody-AuNP (anti-E. coli O157:H7-mAb-AuNP) dispersed in the conjugate pad. Polyclonal antibody was the test line, and anti-mouse secondary antibody was the control line in nitrocellulose (NC) membrane. In the signal amplification indirect LFIA method, anti-mouse-Ab-AuNP was mixed with sample solution and anti-E. coli O157:H7-mAb-AuNP complex in ELISA well, creating a dual AuNP complex. This complex was added to LFIA, which had a polyclonal antibody as the test line and secondary antibody as the control line in NC membrane. The detection sensitivity of both LFIAs improved 100-fold and reached 1.14 × 10³ CFU mL⁻¹. The 28 nm and 45 nm AuNPs were demonstrated to be the optimal dual AuNP pairs. Signal amplification LFIA was perfectly applied to the detection of milk samples with E. coli O157:H7 via naked eye observation.     

Synthesis of Novel and Thermally Stable Water Insoluble Coumarin‐based Azo Dyes via a Mild and Green Procedure

A series of novel azo coumarin dyes were synthesized by the diazotization of 7‐amino coumarins in the presence of catalytic amounts of tungstate sulfuric acid (TSA) followed by coupling with phenol derivatives. Tungstate sulfuric acid catalyzes this reaction at room temperature and short reaction time with high yields.     

荧光标记法研究鱼类GABA受体与Ro7-1986/1和Fipronil的相互作用

以苯二氮卓类化合物Ro7-1986/1和氟虫腈(Fipronil)分别与异硫氰酸荧光素(FITC)反应合成了2种γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)受体的配体荧光复合物,即FITC-Ro7-1986/1(简称FITC-Ro7)和FITC-Fipronil;利用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)和核磁共振氢谱(1H NMR)等手段对其结构进行了表征.以2种荧光配体为探针,采用荧光标记法研究了Ro7-1986/1和Fipronil与鳙鱼(Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)脑内GABA受体的相互作用,得到了亲和常数Kd和最大结合量[RT].同时考察了GABA对Ro7-1986/1与受体相互作用的影响.研究结果表明,Ro7-1986/1和Fipronil与受体的亲和常数Kd分别为(67±5)nmol/L和(346±6)nmol/L;最大结合量[RT]分别为(13.8±1.8)pmol/mg protein和(40.6±3.5)pmol/mg protein;GABA促进了Ro7-1986/1与受体的结合,进一步的研究结果表明,鱼类与哺乳动物脑中GABA受体结构相似;相对于哺乳动物,苯吡唑类杀虫剂Fipronil对鱼类GABA的亲和力较高.     

纳米腔限制环境下2-(2-羟苯基)苯并噻唑的质子转移

采用稳态和瞬态荧光法对2-(2-羟苯基)苯并噻唑(HBT)与七元瓜环(CB7)的超分子作用及CB7分子纳米腔限制作用对HBT激发态质子转移(ESIPT)过程进行了研究,并采用Benesi-Hildebrand方程对荧光数据进行处理,以确定超分子复合物的组成比.结果表明,在N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)和二氯甲烷溶液中,CB7与HBT的作用均形成化学计量比为1∶1的主客体复合物,HBT的质子转移对溶剂很敏感,CB7的加入,使HBT的荧光寿命降低,量子产率增大.在DMF溶液中,CB7的加入促进了酚氧负离子的形成,而在二氯甲烷溶液中,CB7的加入限制了HBT的激发态质子转移.结构优化计算表明,CB7与HBT能形成化学计量比为1∶1的复合物.     

Fe2BiTaO7纳米催化剂的组织结构及光催化性能

用固相反应合成法合成了光催化剂Fe2BiTaO7,通过XRD、SEM、TEM、紫外-可见漫反射等表征方法对其组织结构及光催化性能进行了研究。结果表明Fe2BiTaO7为立方晶系烧绿石结构,空间群为Fd3m,禁带宽度为1.72 e V。通过比较Fe2BiTaO7、P25TiO2、掺氮Ti O2和Bi2In Ta O7的可见光光催化降解罗丹明B,发现Fe2BiTaO7降解效果及催化活性均高于其它催化剂,并且Fe2BiTaO7降解罗丹明B效率是掺氮二氧化钛的1.5倍。Fe2BiTaO7降解罗丹明B的曲线符合一级动力学,一级动力学常数为0.022 93 min-1。研究了罗丹明B可能的降解路径和Fe2BiTaO7在可见光下降解苯酚的效果。Fe2BiTaO7(可见光)光催化剂系统适用于纺织工业废水处理。     

Electrochemical Detection of a Cancer Biomarker mir‐21 in Cell Lysates Using Graphene Modified Sensors

In the present study, the voltammetric and impidimetric detection of microRNA‐21, mir‐21 from cell lysates was investigated for the first time by using graphene modified disposable pencil graphite electrodes (GME). The surface characterization of GME was performed via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Upon passive adsorption of inosine substituted antimicroRNA‐21, antimir‐21 probe, InP, onto the surface of GME and then solid phase hybridization of InP with mir‐21, the target, the electrochemical detection was performed by using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV) and EIS techniques. This developed biosensor, GME has presented a 2.77 times lower detection limit of 2.09 µg/mL (3.12 pmol) with respect to unmodified pencil graphite electrode (GE). Moreover it is capable of analyzing mir‐21 in the cell lysates of mir‐21 positive breast cancer cell line (MCF‐7) contrast to mir‐21 negative hepatoma cell line (HUH‐7). The proposed electrochemical yes‐no system does not require any purification and/or amplification step prior to fast detection of mir‐21 from real samples.     

Hyperbolicity of Steady‐State Equations of Gas Shear Flows in a Thin Layer

The steadystate threedimensional motion of an ideal gas in a thin layer of variable height is considered. In the longwave approximation, the equations of gas dynamics reduce to a system of integrodifferential equations. The generalized characteristics and hyperbolicity conditions of the obtained system are found.     

一种应用于嵌入式领域的GPS接收机的硬件设计

给出了基于ZARLINK公司的GP2015和集成了ARM核微控制器的GPS专用处理芯片GP4020实现GPS接收机的硬件设计，提出了射频PCB设计的解决方案。系统调试结果说明本方案设计的GPS接收机具有功耗低、体积小、集成度高的特点，非常适用于掌上设备等嵌入式领域。