Hybrid Raman and Partial Wave Spectroscopy Microscope for the Characterization of Molecular and Structural Alterations in Tissue.

We present a hybrid Raman spectroscopy (RS) and partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) microscope for the characterization of molecular and structural tissue alterations. The PWS performance was assessed with surface roughness standards, while the Raman performance with a silicon crystal standard. We also validated the system on stomach and intestinal mouse tissues, two closely-related tissue types, and demonstrate that the addition of PWS information improves RS data classification for these tissue types from R = 0.

Impact of signal-to-noise ratio and contrast definition on the sensitivity assessment and benchmarking of fluorescence molecular imaging systems.

Significance: Standardization of fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) is critical for ensuring quality control in guiding surgical procedures. To accurately evaluate system performance, two metrics, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast, are widely employed. However, there is currently no consensus on how these metrics can be computed.

Effect of albumin on the fluorescence quantum yield of porphyrin -based agents for fluorescent diagnostics.

Background: Among modern methods of tumor diagnosis, fluorescent methods are considered one of the most prospective. Diagnostic agents (DAs) spread throughout the body by the bloodstream, so, the DA molecules are often transported by albumins and can be affected by these proteins. In our study we evaluate the effect of complex formation between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and three fluorescence DA's (Photolon, Photoditazin and Dimegin) on their fluorescent quantum yields.

[Fluorescent fusion proteins with 10th human fibronectin domain].

In the current paper we describe a new type of hybrid molecules including red fluorescent protein mCherry and 10th type III human fibronectin domain (10Fn3) - one of the alternative scaffold proteins which can be used for the construction of antibody mimics with various binding specificity. We have constructed different gene variants encoding for the hybrid fluorescent protein and studied their expression in Escherichia coli cells. It was shown that N-terminal position of mCherry and modification of its N-terminal amino acid sequence promotes efficientbacterial expression of the hybrid protein in the soluble form.

[Effect of alpha-conotoxin MII and its N-terminal derivatives on Ca2+ and Na+ signals induced by nicotine in neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y].

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are implicated in the regulation ofintracellular Ca2+-dependent processes in cells both in normal and pathological states, alpha-Conotoxins isolated from Conus snails venom are a valuable tool for the study of pharmacological properties and functional role of nAChRs. In the present study the alpha-conotoxin MII analogue with the additional tyrosine attached to the N terminus (Y0-MII) was prepared. Also we synthesized analogs with the N-terminal glycine residue labeled with the Bolton- Hunter reagent (BH-MII) or fluorestsein isothiocyanate (FITC-MII).