Synthetic minority oversampling and iterative fluorescence-suppression integrated algorithm for Raman spectrum pesticide detection system.

Raman spectrum preprocessing method for automatic denoising and suppression of the fluorescent background. In this method, noise is reduced using wavelet transform, and a modified polynomial curve fitting method is implemented such that an algorithm can independently identify the optimal curve parameters for fluorescent background suppression. To address the problem of imbalanced datasets, the present study employed a synthetic minority oversampling technique to increase the volume of data in minority classes.

An acridone based fluorescent dye for lipid droplet tracking and cancer diagnosis.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are spherical organelles that localize in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. Different proteins are embedded on the surface of LDs, so LDs play a vital role in the physiological activities of cells. The dysregulation of LDs is associated with various human diseases, such as diabetes and obesity.

Targeting the receptor binding domain and heparan sulfate binding for antiviral drug development against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants diminished the efficacy of current antiviral drugs and vaccines. Hence, identifying highly conserved sequences and potentially druggable pockets for drug development was a promising strategy against SARS-CoV-2 variants. In viral infection, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) proteins are essential in binding to the host receptor.

Suppressing c-FOS expression by G-quadruplex ligands inhibits osimertinib-resistant non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Osimertinib is the first-line therapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer harboring epidermal growth factor receptor-activating alterations. Although osimertinib has been shown to elicit profound patient responses, cancer cells frequently develop additional alterations that sustain their proliferation capacity. This acquired resistance represents a substantial hurdle in precision medicine for patients with lung cancer.

Tunable Fluorescence via Self-Assembled Switching of AIE-Active Micelle-like Nanoaggregates.

Chemical structures bearing a combination of aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) properties attracted the attention of many researchers. Recently, there is an increasing demand to pose tunable AIEE and ICT fluorophores that could present their conformation changes-related emission colors by adjusting the medium polarity. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of 4-alkoxyphenyl-substituted 1,8-naphthalic anhydride derivatives NAxC using the Suzuki coupling reaction to construct donor-acceptor (D-A)-type fluorophores with alkoxyl substituents of varying carbon chain lengths (x = 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 in NAxC).

A flexible and stretchable photonic crystal film with sensitive structural color-changing properties for spoiled milk detection.

This study proposes a flexible and stretchable 3D polymer film with photonic crystals for the visible detection of spoiled milk. Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) was used as the substrate for the photonic crystal structure. The back barrier layer with a regular array of nanohemispheres of anodic aluminum oxide film was used as a template for electroforming a nickel mold.

Surface plasmon-enhanced fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman scattering dual-readout chip constructed with silver nanowires: Label-free clinical detection of direct-bilirubin.

It has been found that the direct/total bilirubin ratio (D/T-BIL) is related to the survival rate of COVID-19 pneumonia. The presence of an excessive amount of bilirubin in human blood also causes liver and neurological damage, leading to death. Therefore, upon considering the adverse impact of the presence of excessive bilirubin in human blood, it has become highly imperative to detect bilirubin in a fast and label-free manner.

Cre/LoxP Genetic Recombination Sustains Cartilage Anabolic Factor Expression in Hyaluronan Encapsulated MSCs Alleviates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.

(1) Background: Inexplicable low back and neck pain frequently results from spinal disc degeneration with an imbalanced intervertebral disc (IVD) cell homeostasis. We hypothesize that introducing MSC expressing a sustained cartilage-anabolic factor in the IVD may stimulate the mucoid materials secreted from the IVD cells, promote the MSC's chondrogenesis and maintain the hydration content providing mechanical strength to decelerate the disc degeneration progression; (2) Methods: This study expressed a cartilage-anabolic factor runx1 by a baculoviral vector (BV) transduced MSCs through a Cre/LoxP gene editing and recombination system for sustained recombinant runx1 transcription factor production. The Cre/LoxP BV modified MSCs were encapsulated by hyaluronan hydrogel, due to its' vital composition in ECM of a healthy disc and transplanted to a punctured coccygeal disc in rats through micro-injection, followed by X-ray radiography and histological analysis at the 4- and 12-weeks post-transplantation; (3) Results: Data reveals the Cre/LoxP BV system-mediated long-termed runx1 gene expression, possessing good biosafety characteristics in the in vitro cell transduction and in vivo MSCs transplantation, and maintained superior hydration content in the disc than that of mock transduced MSCs; (4) Conclusions: This proof-of-concept study fulfills the need of implanting therapeutic cells accompanied with microinjection in the disc, such as a discography and paves a road to manufacture composite hyaluronan, such as peptide modified hyaluronan as an MSC carrier for IVD regeneration in the future study.

Runx1 Messenger RNA Delivered by Polyplex Nanomicelles Alleviate Spinal Disc Hydration Loss in a Rat Disc Degeneration Model.

Vertebral disc degenerative disease (DDD) affects millions of people worldwide and is a critical factor leading to low back and neck pain and consequent disability. Currently, no strategy has addressed curing DDD from fundamental aspects, because the pathological mechanism leading to DDD is still controversial. One possible mechanism points to the homeostatic status of extracellular matrix (ECM) anabolism, and catabolism in the disc may play a vital role in the disease's progression.

Pilot imaging study of o-BMVC foci for discrimination of indeterminate cytology in diagnosing fine-needle aspiration of thyroid nodules.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy of a fluorescence probe, 3,6-bis(1-methyl-2-vinylpyridinium) carbazole diiodide (o-BMVC), provides an objective method for preoperative diagnosis of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of thyroid nodules. The key of this o-BMVC test of FNA smears is the measurement of the digital number of o-BMVC foci in the nucleus. Thus, there are three categories classified in the o-BMVC test, which are nondiagnostic for unsatisfactory samples, benign for less numbers of o-BMVC foci, and malignant for more numbers of o-BMVC foci.

Characterizations and Antibacterial Efficacy of Chitosan Oligomers Synthesized by Microwave-Assisted Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidative Depolymerization Method for Infectious Wound Applications.

The use of naturally occurring materials with antibacterial properties has gained a great interest in infected wound management. Despite being an abundant resource in Vietnam, chitosan and its derivatives have not yet been intensively explored for their potential in such application. Here, we utilized a local chitosan source to synthesize chitosan oligomers (OCS) using hydrogen peroxide (HO) oxidation under the microwave irradiation method.

Imiquimod Accelerated Antitumor Response by Targeting Lysosome Adaptation in Skin Cancer Cells.

Lysosomal adaptation is a cellular physiological process in which the number and function of lysosomes are regulated at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels in response to extracellular and/or intracellular cues or lysosomal damage. Imiquimod (IMQ), a synthetic toll-like receptor 7 ligand with hydrophobic and weak basic properties, exhibits both antitumor and antiviral activity against various skin malignancies as a clinical treatment. Interestingly, IMQ has been suggested to be highly concentrated in the lysosomes of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, indicating that IMQ could modulate lysosome function after sequestration in the lysosome.

A 3D Plasmonic Crossed-Wire Nanostructure for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering and Plasmon-Enhanced Fluorescence Detection.

In this manuscript, silver nanowire 3D random crossed-wire woodpile (3D-RCW) nanostructures were designed and prepared. The 3D-RCW provides rich "antenna" and "hot spot" effects that are responsive for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effects and plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF). The optimal construction mode for the 3D-RCW, based on the ratio of silver nanowire and control compound R6G, was explored and established for use in PEF and SERS analyses.

Fabrication of Double Emission Enhancement Fluorescent Nanoparticles with Combined PET and AIEE Effects.

The major challenge in the fabrication of fluorescent silica nanoparticles (FSNs) based on dye-doped silica nanoparticles (DDSNs) is aggregation-caused fluorescence quenching. Here, we constructed an FSN based on a double emission enhancement (DEE) platform. A thio-reactive fluorescence turn-on molecule, -butyl-4-(4-maleimidostyryl)-1,8-naphthalimide (CS), was bound to a silane coupling agent, (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS), and the product -butyl-4-(3-(trimethoxysilyl-propylthio)styryl)-1,8-naphthalimide (CSP) was further used to fabricate a core-shell nanoparticle through the Stöber method.

Dual-acting antibacterial porous chitosan film embedded with a photosensitizer.

This study proposes to develop a dual-acting antibacterial film of porous chitosan (Cs) embedded with small molecular compound, which possesses photosensitive characteristics with bactericidal efficacy, to promote the accelerated recovery of infectious wounds. The Cs/small molecular compound (Cs-cpd.2) dressing was prepared using the freeze-drying method.

Organic small molecule for detection and photodegradation of mitochondrial DNA mutations.

A detection and degradation platform was developed to optically quantify the 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG, an important tautomer of mitochondrial mutated DNA 8-oxo-dG. We first found that 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG offers particular fluorescence emission under the conditions between pH ∼ 7 and ∼11. Thus, a mitochondria-targeting photosensitizer NV-12P was prepared to offer simultaneously photoinduced electron transfer and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) with 6-enolate, 8-keto-dG.

The G-quadruplex fluorescent probe 3,6-bis(1-methyl-2-vinyl-pyridinium) carbazole diiodide as a biosensor for human cancers.

Using time-gated fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, significantly more signals from 3,6-bis(1-methyl-2-vinyl-pyridinium) carbazole diiodide (o-BMVC) foci, characterized by the longer fluorescent decay time of o-BMVC, were detected in six types of cancer cells than in three types of normal cells. Accumulating evidence suggested that the o-BMVC foci are mainly the G-quadruplex foci. The large contrast in the number of o-BMVC foci can be considered as a common signature to distinguish cancer cells from normal cells.

Silencing Stem Cell Factor Gene in Fibroblasts to Regulate Paracrine Factor Productions and Enhance c-Kit Expression in Melanocytes on Melanogenesis.

Melanogenesis is a complex physiological mechanism involving various paracrine factors. Skin cells such as keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and melanocytes communicate with one another through secreted regulators, thereby regulating the melanocytes' bio-functions. The stem cell factor (SCF) is a paracrine factor produced by fibroblasts, and its receptor, c-kit, is expressed on melanocytes.

Construction of emission-tunable nanoparticles based on a TICT-AIEgen: impact of aggregation-induced emission versus twisted intramolecular charge transfer.

Traditional fluorogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIEgens) generally exhibit strong luminescence with monotonous wavelengths in the aggregated state, whereas apparent solvatochromic emission intensities and wavelengths (shift) are observed in molecules with twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) characteristic molecules. Herein, we develop a platform to construct strong luminescent nanoparticles with tunable emission colors based on a TICT-AIEgen, 3,6-divinylaryl-substituted carbazole (C12P). Also based on the same molecule, through different nanoparticle fabrication approaches, fluorescent nanoparticles with different emission colors were obtained.

Flexible Photonic Crystal Material for Multiple Anticounterfeiting Applications.

In this study, a nanoimprinting method was introduced to fabricate polycarbonate films with transparent and flexible photonic crystal (FPC) structures. The fabricated flexible polymer films display a full-color grating because of the nanohemispherical structures on the surface. Through the Bragg diffraction formula, it was confirmed that the FPC polymer films transfer a part of the light energy to the second-order diffraction spectrum.

Fabrication of a reticular poly(lactide-co-glycolide) cylindrical scaffold for the development of microvascular networks.

The microvascular network is a simple but critical system that is responsible for a range of important biological mechanisms in the bodies of all animals. The ability to generate a functional microvessel not only makes it possible to engineer vital tissue of considerable size but also serves as a platform for biomedical studies. However, most of the current methods for generating microvessel networks use rectangular channels which cannot represent real vessels and have dead zones at their corners, hence hindering the circulation of culture medium.