Infiltrate and destroy: In an environment rich in protonating or oxidative species, such as the intracellular milieu of cancer cells, the main absorption band of spherical, water‐soluble polyaniline ...nanoparticles was red‐shifted to a near‐infrared (NIR) wavelength as a result of the formation of the emeraldine salt (see picture). The doped nanoparticles caused photothermal ablation of cancer cells upon NIR laser irradiation in vitro and in vivo.
While the coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) accounts for the current global pandemic, the emergence of other unknown pathogens, named “Disease X,” remains a serious concern in the future. Emerging or ...re‐emerging pathogens continue to pose significant challenges to global public health. In response, the scientific community has been urged to create advanced platform technologies to meet the ever‐increasing needs presented by these devastating diseases with pandemic potential. This review aims to bring new insights to allow for the application of advanced nanomaterials in future diagnostics, vaccines, and antiviral therapies, thereby addressing the challenges associated with the current preparedness strategies in clinical settings against viruses. The application of nanomaterials has advanced medicine and provided cutting‐edge solutions for unmet needs. Herein, an overview of the currently available nanotechnologies is presented, highlighting the significant features that enable them to control infectious diseases, and identifying the challenges that remain to be addressed for the commercial production of nano‐based products is presented. Finally, to conclude, the development of a nanomaterial‐based system using a “One Health” approach is suggested. This strategy would require a transdisciplinary collaboration and communication between all stakeholders throughout the entire process spanning across research and development, as well as the preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing phases.
Nanomaterials have a significant potential for creating sophisticated complexes, mimicking the natural size and structures of viruses without the complications of toxicity. New approaches for applying advanced nanomaterial‐based platform technologies to future diagnostics, vaccines, and antiviral treatments against emerging infectious diseases are reviewed. The unmet needs and future directions of current nanomaterial‐based tools in the clinical settings are also addressed.
Breast cancer (BC) is a major global health problem, with ≈20–25% of patients overexpressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), an aggressive marker, yet access to early detection and ...treatment varies across countries. A low‐cost, equipment‐free, and easy‐to‐use polydiacetylene (PDA)‐based colorimetric sensor is developed for HER2‐overexpressing cancer detection, designed for use in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). PDA nanoparticles are first prepared through thin‐film hydration. Subsequently, hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticles and HER2 antibodies are sequentially conjugated to them. The synthesized HER2‐MPDA can be concentrated and separated by a magnetic field while inheriting the optical characteristics of PDA. The specific binding of HER2 antibody in HER2‐MPDA to HER2 receptor in HER2‐overexpressing exosomes causes a blue‐to‐red color change by altering the molecular structure of the PDA backbone. This colorimetric sensor can simultaneously separate and detect HER2‐overexpressing exosomes. HER2‐MPDA can detect HER2‐overexpressing exosomes in the culture medium of HER2‐overexpressing BC cells and in mouse urine samples from a HER2‐overexpressing BC mouse model. It can selectively isolate and detect only HER2‐overexpressing exosomes through magnetic separation, and its detection limit is found to be 8.5 × 108 particles mL−1. This colorimetric sensor can be used for point‐of‐care diagnosis of HER2‐overexpressing BC in LMICs.
A colorimetric sensor based on polydiacetylene is developed for the detection of HER2‐overexpressing breast cancer. HER2‐MPDA is introduced with magnetic nanoparticles and HER2 antibodies onto PCDA/DMPC nanoparticle, to bind and separate HER2 receptor of exosomes are derived from HER2‐overexpressing breast cancer. The colorimetric change performance of HER2‐MPDA demonstrated with HER2‐overexpressing breast cancer cells and mouse urine.
Wearable devices are becoming widespread in a wide range of applications, from healthcare to biomedical monitoring systems, which enable continuous measurement of critical biomarkers for medical ...diagnostics, physiological health monitoring and evaluation. Especially as the elderly population grows globally, various chronic and acute diseases become increasingly important, and the medical industry is changing dramatically due to the need for point-of-care (POC) diagnosis and real-time monitoring of long-term health conditions. Wearable devices have evolved gradually in the form of accessories, integrated clothing, body attachments and body inserts. Over the past few decades, the tremendous development of electronics, biocompatible materials and nanomaterials has resulted in the development of implantable devices that enable the diagnosis and prognosis through small sensors and biomedical devices, and greatly improve the quality and efficacy of medical services. This article summarizes the wearable devices that have been developed to date, and provides a review of their clinical applications. We will also discuss the technical barriers and challenges in the development of wearable devices, and discuss future prospects on wearable biosensors for prevention, personalized medicine and real-time health monitoring.
Rapid developments in the field of nanoparticles during the last decades have led to its increased application in drug delivery approaches. The advantages of nano-based drug delivery systems include ...improved therapeutic efficacy of drugs and the reduction of side effects.
This review aims to highlight advances in stimuli-triggered drug delivery approaches using polymeric nanoparticles with a focus on pH-sensitive drug- and theranostic delivery systems.
Of the various organic/inorganic nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles have fulfilled an integral role in the advancement of drug delivery systems by virtue of the ease to incorporate and modify targeting moieties in combination with controlled drug release over prolonged periods. Furthermore, polymeric nanoparticles facilitate theranostic treatment by the incorporation of imaging agents in addition to therapeutics. Recently, stimuli-responsive polymeric nanoparticles emerged as smart drug carriers, in which drug release is affected by physical and/or chemical structural changes induced by a specific stimulus (e.g. pH, temperature, and specific enzymes). The use of these nanocomposites reduces premature drug release and maintains effective drug levels at the pathological target.
Putrescine and cadaverine are important volatile indicators for the evaluation of food spoilage. In this study, a metal-organic framework (MOF)-coated surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) paper ...platform for the detection of putrescine and cadaverine is developed. Au@ zeolite imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) SERS paper is fabricated by the coating of ZIF-8 layer on a Au nanoparticle-impregnated paper that is prepared by dry plasma reduction. The Au@ZIF-8 SERS paper is characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and N2 sorption isotherm. The ZIF-8 layer enables the accumulation of gaseous molecules and also provides enhancement of SERS signals. The fluorescence, SERS, and simulation results prove the improved detection ability of the Au@ZIF-8 platform for the volatile molecules. For the selective detection of putrescine and cadaverine, the Au@ZIF-8 SERS paper is functionalized with 4-mercatobenzaldehyde (4-MBA). The 4-MBA molecule acts as a Raman reporter and also a specific receptor for the volatile amine molecules. Using the intensity ratiometric detection of 4-MBA-functionalized Au@ZIF-8 SERS paper, putrescine and cadaverine are quantitatively detected with detection limits of 76.99 and 115.88 parts per billion, respectively. Furthermore, the detection of volatile amine molecules released from spoiled salmon, chicken, beef, and pork samples is demonstrated. It is anticipated that the MOF-coated SERS paper platforms will be applicable not only in food safety but other applications including disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring.
•MOF-coated SERS-active platform enables the detection of volatile amines from foodstuffs.•Putrescine and cadaverine are detected with high sensitivity and selectivity using Au@ZIF-8 SERS paper.•Au@ZIF-8 SERS paper is applied to the determination of food freshness for the first time.
Telomerase has attracted much attention as a universal cancer biomarker because telomerase is overexpressed in more than 85% of human cancer cells while suppressed in normal somatic cells. Since a ...strong association exists between telomerase activity and human cancers, the development of effective telomerase activity assay is critically important. Here, a nanogap‐rich Au nanowire (NW) surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor is reported for detection of telomerase activity in various cancer cells and tissues. The nanogap‐rich Au NWs are constructed by deposition of nanoparticles on single‐crystalline Au NWs and provided highly reproducible SERS spectra. The telomeric substrate (TS) primer‐attached nanogap‐rich Au NWs can detect telomerase activity through SERS measurement after the elongation of TS primers, folding into G‐quadruplex structures, and intercalation of methylene blue. This sensor enables us to detect telomerase activity from various cancer cell lines with a detection limit of 0.2 cancer cells mL−1. Importantly, the nanogap‐rich Au NW sensor can diagnose gastric and breast cancer tissues accurately. The nanogap‐rich Au NW sensors show strong SERS signals only in the presence of tumor tissues excised from 16 tumor‐bearing mice, while negligible signals in the presence of heated tumor tissues or normal tissues. It is anticipated that nanogap‐rich Au NW SERS sensors can be used for a universal cancer diagnosis and further biomedical applications including a diverse biomarker sensing.
A nanogap‐rich Au nanowire (NW) surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensor is developed for ultrasensitive and specific detection of telomerase activity. The optimized nanogap‐rich Au NW can provide highly reproducible and strong SERS signals. Using nanogap‐rich Au NW SERS sensors, telomerase activities of cancer cells and tumor tissues are successfully detected, suggesting the potential applicability of nanogap‐rich Au NW SERS sensor in cancer diagnosis.
Abstract
We report the detection of transverse magnetohydrodynamic waves, also known as Alfvénic waves, in the chromospheric fibrils of a solar-quiet region. Unlike previous studies that measured ...transversal displacements of fibrils in imaging data, we investigate the line-of-sight (LOS) velocity oscillations of the fibrils in spectral data. The observations were carried out with the Fast Imaging Solar Spectrograph of the 1.6 m Goode Solar Telescope at the Big Bear Solar Observatory. By applying spectral inversion to the H
α
and Ca
ii
8542 Å line profiles, we determine various physical parameters, including the LOS velocity in the chromosphere of the quiet Sun. In the H
α
data, we select two adjacent points along the fibrils and analyze the LOS velocities at those points. For the time series of the velocities that show high cross-correlation between the two points and do not exhibit any correlation with intensity, we interpret them as propagating Alfvénic wave packets. We identify a total of 385 Alfvénic wave packets in the quiet-Sun fibrils. The mean values of the period, velocity amplitude, and propagation speed are 7.5 minutes, 1.33 km s
−1
, and 123 km s
−1
, respectively. We find that the detected waves are classified into three groups based on their periods, namely, 3, 5, and 10 minute bands. Each group of waves exhibits distinct wave properties, indicating a possible connection to their generation mechanism. Based on our results, we expect that the identification of Alfvénic waves in various regions will provide clues to their origin and the underlying physical processes in the solar atmosphere.
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