Neutron Imaging and Applications offers an introduction to the basics of neutron beam production in addition to the wide scope of techniques that enhance imaging application capabilities. An ...instructional overview of neutron sources, detectors, optics and spin-filters allows readers to delve more deeply into the discussions of radiography, tomography and prospective applications available in neutron holography techniques. A section devoted to current applications describes imaging single grains in polycrystalline materials, neutron imaging of geological materials and other materials science and engineering areas. Coverage of thermal neutron imaging of biological tissues, plant physiology, Homeland Security and contraband detection explore the future prospects of this cutting-edge research. Written by key experts in the field, researchers and engineers involved with imaging technologies will find Neutron Imaging and Applications a valuable reference.
Electrochemical biosensors have played active roles at the forefront of bioanalysis because they have the potential to achieve sensitive, specific and low-cost detection of biomolecules and many ...others. Engineering the electrochemical sensing interface with functional nanomaterials leads to novel electrochemical biosensors with improved performances in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, stability and simplicity. Functional nanomaterials possess good conductivity, catalytic activity, biocompatibility and high surface area. Coupled with bio-recognition elements, these features can amplify signal transduction and biorecognition events, resulting in highly sensitive biosensing. Additionally, microfluidic electrochemical biosensors have attracted considerable attention on account of their miniature, portable and low-cost systems as well as high fabrication throughput and ease of scaleup. For example, electrochemical enzymetic biosensors and aptamer biosensors (aptasensors) based on the integrated microchip can be used for portable point-of-care diagnostics and environmental monitoring. This review is a summary of our recent progress in the field of electrochemical biosensors, including aptasensors, cytosensors, enzymatic biosensors and self-powered biosensors based on biofuel cells. We presented the advantages that functional nanomaterials and microfluidic chip technology bring to the electrochemical biosensors, together with future prospects and possible challenges.
•Electrochemical biosensors can achieve sensitive, specific and low-cost bioanalysis.•Engineering sensing interface with nanomaterials improved analysis performances.•Microfluidic electrochemical biosensors can be used for portable devices.•Nanomaterials and microfluidic chip bring advantages to electrochemical biosensors.
Nanomaterials have gained importance in various fields of science, technology, medicine, colloid technologies, diagnostics, drug delivery, personal care applications and others due to their small ...size and unique physico-chemical characteristic. Apart from above mentioned area, it is also extensively being used in food sector specifically in preservation and packaging. The future applications in food can also be extended to improve the shelf life, food quality, safety, fortification and biosensors for contaminated or spoiled food or food packaging. Different types and shapes of nanomaterials are being employed depending upon the need and nature of the food. Characterisation of these nanomaterials is essential to understand the interaction with the food matrix and also with biological compartment. This review is focused on application of nanotechnology in food industries. It also gives insight on commercial products in market with usage of nanomaterials, current research and future aspects in these areas. Currently, they are being incorporated into commercial products at a faster rate than the development of knowledge and regulations to mitigate potential health and environmental impacts associated with their manufacturing, application and disposal. As nanomaterials are finding new application every day, care should be taken about their potential toxic effects.
Glycans are everywhere in biological systems, being involved in many cellular events with important implications for medical purposes. Building upon a detailed understanding of the functional roles ...of carbohydrates in molecular recognition processes and disease states, glycans are increasingly being considered as key players in pharmacological research. On the basis of the important progress recently made in glycochemistry, glycobiology, and glycomedicine, we provide a complete overview of successful applications and future perspectives of carbohydrates in the biopharmaceutical and medical fields. This review highlights the development of carbohydrate‐based diagnostics, exemplified by glycan imaging techniques and microarray platforms, synthetic oligosaccharide vaccines against infectious diseases (e.g., HIV) and cancer, and finally carbohydrate‐derived therapeutics, including glycomimetic drugs and glycoproteins.
Medicinal chemistry: On the basis of the important progress recently made in glycochemistry, glycobiology, and glycomedicine, a complete overview of successful applications and future perspectives of carbohydrates in the biopharmaceutical and medical fields (see graphic) is provided.
A new developed tunable diode laser spectrometer for the measurement of ammonia (NH
3
) mole fractions in exhaust gas matrices with strong CO
2
and H
2
O background at temperatures up to 800 K is ...presented. In situ diagnostics in harsh exhaust environments during SCR after treatment are enabled by the use of ammonia transitions in the ν
2
+ ν
3
near-infrared band around 2300 nm. Therefore, three lines have been selected, coinciding near 2200.5 nm (4544.5 cm
−1
) with rather weak temperature dependency and minimal interference with CO
2
and H
2
O. A fiber-coupled 2.2-μm distributed feedback laser diode was used and attached to the hot gas flow utilizing adjustable gas tight high-temperature fiber ports. The spectrometer spans four coplanar optical channels across the measurement plane and simultaneously detects the direct absorption signal via a fiber-coupled detector unit. An exhaust simulation test rig was used to characterize the spectrometer’s performance in ammonia-doped hot gas environments. We achieved a temporal resolution of 13 Hz and temperature-dependent precisions of NH
3
mole fraction ranging from 50 to 70 ppm
V
. There the spectrometer achieved normalized ammonia detection limits of 7–10
ppm
V
·
m
and 2–3
ppm
V
·
m
/
Hz
.
The work with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which comprise lymphocytes and monocytes, is indispensable in immunological diagnostics and research. The isolation of PBMCs takes advantage ...of differences in cell density of the different blood components. Density gradient centrifugation of diluted whole blood layered over a density gradient medium yields PBMCs; two subsequent washing steps remove remaining platelets. To store the cells for future assays, they can be frozen and thawed when required. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) serves as a cryoprotectant for freezing PBMCs, but must be removed by washing after thawing, as it can become toxic to the cells on longer exposure.
The ability to count biomolecules such as cancer-biomarker miRNAs with the naked eye is seemingly impossible in molecular diagnostics. Here, we show an ultrasensitive naked-eye-counting strategy for ...quantifying miRNAs by employing T7 phage-a bacteria-specific virus nanoparticle-as a surrogate. The phage is genetically engineered to become fluorescent and capable of binding a miRNA-capturing gold nanoparticle (GNP) in a one-to-one manner. Target miRNAs crosslink the resultant phage-GNP couple and miRNA-capturing magnetic microparticles, forming a sandwich complex containing equimolar phage and miRNA. The phage is then released from the complex and developed into one macroscopic fluorescent plaque in a Petri dish by plating it in a host bacterial medium. Counting the plaques by the naked eye enables the quantification of miRNAs with detection limits of ∼3 and ∼5 aM for single-target and two-target miRNAs, respectively. This approach offers ultrasensitive and convenient quantification of disease biomarkers by the naked eye.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a good candidate for the development of fast and easy-to-use diagnostic tools, possibly used on biofluids in point-of-care or screening tests. In ...particular, label-free SERS spectra of blood serum and plasma, two biofluids widely used in diagnostics, could be used as a metabolic fingerprinting approach for biomarker discovery. This study aims at a systematic evaluation of SERS spectra of blood serum and plasma, using various Ag and Au aqueous colloids, as SERS substrates, in combination with three excitation lasers of different wavelengths, ranging from the visible to the near-infrared. The analysis of the SERS spectra collected from 20 healthy subjects under a variety of experimental conditions revealed that intense and repeatable spectra are quickly obtained only if proteins are filtered out from samples, and an excitation in the near-infrared is used in combination with Ag colloids. Moreover, common plasma anticoagulants such as EDTA and citrate are found to interfere with SERS spectra; accordingly, filtered serum or heparin plasma are the samples of choice, having identical SERS spectra. Most bands observed in SERS spectra of these biofluids are assigned to uric acid, a metabolite whose blood concentration depends on factors such as sex, age, therapeutic treatments, and various pathological conditions, suggesting that, even when the right experimental conditions are chosen, great care must be taken in designing studies with the purpose of developing diagnostic tests.
Priporočila za obravnavo rakov glave in vratu (RGV) v Sloveniji sledijo priporočilom in usmeritvam, povzetim v publikaciji neprofitne mreže 30 vodilnih severnoameriških inštitucij za obravnavo raka, ...National Comprehensive Cancer Network, in hkrati upoštevajo obstoječe zmožnosti slovenskega zdravstvenega sistema. Smernice predstavljajo poenoteno mnenje vseh štirih najpomembnejših deležnikov na področju obravnave rakov glave in vratu v državi: Klinike za otorinolaringologijo in cervikofacialno kirurgijo, Kliničnega oddelka za maksilofacialno in oralno kirurgijo ter Stomatološke klinike UKC Ljubljana, Klinike za otorinolaringologijo, cervikalno in maksilofacialno kirurgijo UKC Maribor ter Onkološkega inštituta Ljubljana.
The emergence of rapid, user-friendly, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic systems is paving the way for better disease diagnosis and control. Lately, there has been a strong emphasis on developing ...molecular-based diagnostics due to their potential for greatly increased sensitivity and specificity. One of the most critical steps in developing practical diagnostic systems is the ability to perform sample preparation, especially the purification of nucleic acids (NA), at the POC. As such, we have developed a simple-to-use, inexpensive, and disposable sample preparation system for in-membrane purification and concentration of NAs. This system couples lateral flow in a porous membrane with chitosan, a linear polysaccharide that captures NAs via anion exchange chromatography. The system can also substantially concentrate the NAs. The combination of these capabilities can be used on a wide range of sample types, which are prepared for use in downstream processes, such as qPCR, without further purification.
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