Synergetic Effects of Nanoscale ALD-HfO Coatings and Bionic Microstructures for Antiadhesive Surgical Electrodes: Improved Cutting Performance, Antibacterial Property, and Biocompatibility.

The high temperature induced by surgical electrodes is highly susceptible to severe surface adhesion and thermal damage to adjacent tissues, which is a major challenge in improving the quality of electrosurgery. Herein, we reported a coupled electrode with micro/nano hierarchical structures fabricated by depositing nanoscale hafnium oxide (HfO) coatings on bionic microstructures (BMs) via laser texturing, acid washing, and atomic layer deposition (ALD) techniques. The synergistic effect of HfO coatings and BMs greatly enhanced the hemophobicity of the electrode with a blood contact angle of 162.

Deciphering protein microenvironment by using a cysteine specific switch-ON fluorescent probe.

Fluorescent probes provide an unparalleled opportunity to visualize and quantify dynamic events. Here, we employ a medium-size, cysteine specific coumarin based switch-ON fluorescent probe 'L' to track protein unfolding profiles and accessibility of cysteine residues in proteins. It was established that 'L' is highly selective and exhibits no artifact due to interaction with other bystander species.

Use of 6-Methylisoxanthopterin, a Fluorescent Guanine Analog, to Probe Fob1-Mediated Dynamics at the Stalling Fork Barrier DNA Sequences.

Fluorescent nucleic acid base mimics serve as excellent site-specific and real-time reporters of the local and global dynamics. In this work, using the fluorescent guanine mimic 6-methylisoxanthopterin (6-MI), we unravel the differential dynamics of replication fork barrier/terminator sequences (RFB1 and RFB3) mediated by fork blocking protein (Fob1). By strategic and site-specific incorporation of this probe, we show that 6-MI is able to capture the changes in global dynamics exhibited by Fob1 and aids in distinguishing between varied architectural forms like double-stranded DNA versus Holliday junctions (HJs).

Site-Specific Fluorescence Dynamics To Probe Polar Arrest by Fob1 in Replication Fork Barrier Sequences.

Fob1 protein plays an important role in aging and maintains genomic stability by avoiding clashes between the replication and transcription machinery. It facilitates polar arrest by binding to replication fork barrier (RFB) sites, present within the nontranscribed spacer region of the ribosomal DNA. Here, we investigate the mechanism of unidirectional arrest by creating multiple prosthetic forks within the RFB, with fluorescent adenine analogue 2-aminopurine incorporated site-specifically in both the "permissible" and "nonpermissible" directions.