Novel modified carbon nanotubes as a selective sorbent for preconcentration and determination of trace copper ions in fruit samples

In this work, multiwalled carbon nanotubes were reacted with N‐[3‐(triet‐hoxysilyl)propyl]isonicotinamide to prepare pyridine‐functionalized carbon nanotubes. This novel sorbent was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermal and elemental analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. Functionalized carbon nanotubes were applied for the preconcentration and determination of copper ions using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Various parameters such as sample pH, flow rate, eluent type and concentration, and its volume were optimized. Under optimal experimental conditions, the limit of detection, the relative standard deviation, and the recovery of the method were 0.65 ng/mL, 3.2% and 99.4%, respectively. After validating the method using standard reference materials, the new sorbent was applied for the extraction and determination of trace copper(II) ions in fruit samples.     

A Universal DNA Aptamer that Recognizes Spike Proteins of Diverse SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern

We report on a unique DNA aptamer, denoted MSA52, that displays universally high affinity for the spike proteins of wildtype SARS-CoV-2 as well as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, Kappa, Delta and Omicron variants. Using an aptamer pool produced from round 13 of selection against the S1 domain of the wildtype spike protein, we carried out one-round SELEX experiments using five different trimeric spike proteins from variants, followed by high-throughput sequencing and sequence alignment analysis of aptamers that formed complexes with all proteins. A previously unidentified aptamer, MSA52, showed K_d values ranging from 2 to 10 nM for all variant spike proteins, and also bound similarly to variants not present in the reselection experiments. This aptamer also recognized pseudotyped lentiviruses (PL) expressing eight different spike proteins of SARS-CoV-2 with K_d values between 20 and 50 pM, and was integrated into a simple colorimetric assay for detection of multiple PL variants. This discovery provides evidence that aptamers can be generated with high affinity to multiple variants of a single protein, including emerging variants, making it well-suited for molecular recognition of rapidly evolving targets such as those found in SARS-CoV-2.     

Enhancement of β-Glucan Biological Activity Using a Modified Acid-Base Extraction Method from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Beta glucan (β-glucan) has promising bioactive properties. Consequently, the use of β-glucan as a food additive is favored with the dual-purpose potential of increasing the fiber content of food products and enhancing their health properties. Our aim was to evaluate the biological activity of β-glucan (antimicrobial, antitoxic, immunostimulatory, and anticancer) extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae using a modified acid-base extraction method. The results demonstrated that a modified acid-base extraction method gives a higher biological efficacy of β-glucan than in the water extraction method. Using 0.5 mg dry weight of acid-base extracted β-glucan (AB extracted) not only succeeded in removing 100% of aflatoxins, but also had a promising antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria, fungi, and yeast, with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 0.39 and 0.19 mg/mL in the case of resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. In addition, AB extract exhibited a positive immunomodulatory effect, mediated through the high induction of TNFα, IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-2. Moreover, AB extract showed a greater anticancer effect against A549, MDA-MB-232, and HepG-2 cells compared to WI-38 cells, at high concentrations. By studying the cell death mechanism using flow-cytometry, AB extract was shown to induce apoptotic cell death at higher concentrations, as in the case of MDA-MB-231 and HePG-2 cells. In conclusion, the use of a modified AB for β-glucan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae exerted a promising antimicrobial, immunomodulatory efficacy, and anti-cancer potential. Future research should focus on evaluating β-glucan in various biological systems and elucidating the underlying mechanism of action.     

Synthesis and cytotoxic evaluation of novel brominated N-alkyl pyrano[3,2-c]quinolinones

A novel series of 6-alkyl-4-bromopyrano[3,2-c]quinoline-2,5-diones ( 2a–c ), 6-alkyl-3,4-dibromopyrano[3,2-c]quinoline-2,5-diones ( 4a–c ), and 6-alkyl-3-amino-bromopyrano[3,2-c]quinoline-2,5-diones ( 6a–c ) were synthesized via appropriate conventional methods and in good yields. The structures of target compounds were approved by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and mass spectrometry. The antitumor inhibitory activities of the new compounds were evaluated on several cancer cell lines, A-549 (human lung cancer), HCT-116 (human colon cancer), MCF-7 (breast cancer), and HePG-2 (human liver cancer). Moreover, 50% inhibitory concentrations, IC₅₀, were established. 5-Fluorouracil was used as a positive control in the viability assay. The screening results showed that most of the examined compounds exposed powerful inhibition activity toward various cell lines. Particularly, Compound 4c exhibited higher cytotoxic activity against four tumor cell lines than the reference drug, 5-fluorouracil, with significantly lower IC₅₀ values. Accordingly, most of the synthesized compounds would be a better prospective growth in the anticancer drug discovery.     

Alizarin-modified sulfonate carbon nanoparticles in vanadium sensing

The adsorption processes of alizarin onto hydrophilic carbon nanoparticles (Emperor 2000?) are investigated. The significant increase in voltammetric responses for pre-adsorbed alizarin compared with those for solution confirms high affinity of alizarin to carbon nanoparticles (possibly due to π–π stacking interaction between aromatic rings of alizarin and surface-sulfonated carbon nanoparticles). To obtain the optimum of adsorption conditions, the effects of pH, agitation rate, and adsorption time are investigated. Under square wave voltammetry conditions, the peak current for the reduction of alizarin shows a linear relationship with concentration in the range from 2.0 to 10.0 nM. The limit of detection is estimated 5.8?×?10^?9 mol L^?1. Next, alizarin is applied as a receptor for sensing of trace vanadium in acetate buffer pH 5. Linear calibration curves are obtained for vanadium in the range of 1.0?×?10^?6 to 1.0?×?10^?4 mol L^?1 and the limit of detection is estimated 9.6?×?10^?8 mol L^?1. Determination of vanadium in real samples such as sea and tap water is demonstrated.     

Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of solid-phase microextraction fibers using conductive polymers: application in extraction of benzaldehyde from aqueous solution

In this work, polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polyaniline/polypyrrole composite fibers were synthesized in the absence and presence of oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes using electrochemical cyclic voltammetry with CF₃COOH as dopant. Thermal stability of these fibers was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Then, headspace solid-phase microextraction process coupled with gas chromatography and flame ionization detector was used for comparing extraction capability of benzaldehyde from aqueous solution. Since polyaniline fiber showed better extraction efficiency than the other fibers, its preparation conditions including acid concentration, aniline concentration, scan rate, and amount of multiwalled carbon nanotubes were studied by means of the “one-factor-at-a-time method”. The analytical performance of polyaniline fibers were investigated to determine benzaldehyde from the aqueous solution. The morphology and texture of polyaniline fibers were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The attained results revealed that the perfect conditions for acid concentration, aniline concentration, scan rate, and multiwalled carbon nanotubes content were 0.5 M, 0.2 M, 25 mV s^?1, and 0.02 wt%, respectively. The limit of detection for the proposed polyaniline fiber was 15 ng ml^?1.     

Parallel single-cell optical transit dielectrophoresis cytometer

In this work, we present an optical transit DEP flow cytometer for parallel single-cell analysis. Each cell's dielectric property is inferred from velocity perturbations due to DEP actuation in a microfluidic channel. Dual LED sources facilitate velocity measurement by producing two transit shadows for each cell passing through the channel. These shadows are detected using a 256-pixel linear optical array detector. Massively parallel analysis is possible as each pixel of the detector can independently analyze the passing cells. A wide channel (∼18 mm) was employed to carry many particles simultaneously, and the system was capable of detecting the velocity of over 200 cells simultaneously. We have achieved analysis rates for 10 µm diameter polystyrene spheres response exceeding 250 per second. With appropriate calibration, this DEP cytometer can quantitatively measure the dielectric response. The dielectric response (Clausius–Mossotti factor) of viable CHO cells was measured over the frequency range of 100 kHz to 6 MHz, and the obtained response matches the previously measured values by our group. The DEP cytometer uses simple modular components to achieve high throughput label-free single-cell dielectric analysis and can begin analyzing particles within 10 s after starting to pump the sample into the channel.     

Toll-like receptors for pathogen detection in water: challenges and benefits

The need for effective and efficient methods for pathogen detection in water is as serious as ever due to the health risk posed to human population by the consumption of pathogen-contaminated water. One of the important research streams which have been focused on by researchers for development of novel techniques for this purpose is biosensor technologies. Using different bio-recognition elements and transduction methodologies, biosensors have the potential to detect their analyte of interest in a fast and highly specific manner. Different pathogenic agents can be recognised by toll-like receptors (TLRs). The innate immune system of higher organisms employs TLRs for triggering intracellular signalling and induction of the expression of immune response genes. In this report, we explore the challenges associated with employing TLRs for pathogen detection in water samples. Although methods using TLR expressing cells also have been discussed, the focus of this review is on using TLR proteins as the bio-recognition elements in biosensors.