The genome of the toxic invasive species Heracleum sosnowskyi carries an increased number of genes despite absence of recent whole-genome duplications.

Heracleum sosnowskyi, belonging to a group of giant hogweeds, is a plant with large effects on ecosystems and human health. It is an invasive species that contributes to the deterioration of grassland ecosystems. The ability of H.

Optoacoustic/Fluorescent/Acoustic Imaging Probe Based on Air-Filled Bubbles Functionalized with Gold Nanorods and Fluorescein Isothiocyanate.

Liquid/surfactant/gas interfaces are promising objects for nanoengineered multimodal contrasts, which can be used for biomedical imaging in preclinical and clinical applications. Microbubbles with the gaseous core and shell made of lipids/proteins have already acted as ultrasound (US) contrast agents for angiography. In the present work, microbubbles with a shell composed of Span 60 and Tween 80 surfactants functionalized with fluorescein isothiocyanate and gold nanorods to achieve a multimodal combination of US, fluorescence, and optoacoustic imaging are described.

Air-Filled Bubbles Stabilized by Gold Nanoparticle/Photodynamic Dye Hybrid Structures for Theranostics.

Microbubbles have already reached clinical practice as ultrasound contrast agents for angiography. However, modification of the bubbles' shell is needed to produce probes for ultrasound and multimodal (fluorescence/photoacoustic) imaging methods in combination with theranostics (diagnostics and therapeutics). In the present work, hybrid structures based on microbubbles with an air core and a shell composed of bovine serum albumin, albumin-coated gold nanoparticles, and clinically available photodynamic dyes (zinc phthalocyanine, indocyanine green) were shown to achieve multimodal imaging for potential applications in photodynamic therapy.