Gelatin hydrogels are attractive for wound applications owing to their well-defined structural, physical, and chemical properties as well as good cell adhesion and biocompatibility. This study aimed to develop gelatin hydrogels incorporated with bio-nanosilver functionalized with lactoferrin (Ag-LTF) as a dual-antimicrobial action dressing, to be used in treating infected wounds. The hydrogels were cross-linked using genipin prior to loading with Ag-LTF and characterized for their physical and swelling properties, rheology, polymer and actives interactions, and release of the actives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHybrid nanoparticles designed to exert multiple mechanisms of antibacterial action offer a new approach to the fight against pathogenic resistant bacteria. In this study, nanomaterials with the dual actions of antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities were developed using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized with either lactoferrin (LTF) or graphene oxide (GO). AgNPs were synthesized using mushroom waste as a reducing agent and chitosan (CS) as a stabilizing agent, prior to their surface functionalization with either GO (AgGO) or LTF (Ag-LTF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling systems regulate breast cancer growth, progression, and metastasis. The insulin receptor substrates 1 and 2 (IRS1/2) transduce signaling from the type I IGF receptor (IGF-IR) and insulin receptor (InR) to mediate the biological effects of receptor activation. In breast cancer, IRS-1 plays a critical role in cancer cell proliferation while IRS-2 is associated with motility and metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsulin receptor (InsR) and the type I insulin-like growth factor (IGF1R) are homologous receptors necessary for signal transduction by their cognate ligands insulin, IGF-I and IGF-II. IGF1R mAbs, intended to inhibit malignant phenotypic signaling, failed to show benefit in patients with endocrine-resistant tumors in phase III clinical trials. Our previous work showed that in tamoxifen-resistant cells, IGF1R expression was lacking, but InsR inhibition effectively blocked growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of a 45-amino acid Gp2 domain, engineered to bind to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), as a positron emission tomography (PET) probe of EGFR in a xenograft mouse model. The EGFR-targeted Gp2 (Gp2-EGFR) and a nonbinding control were site-specifically labeled with 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelator. Binding affinity was tested toward human EGFR and mouse EGFR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlexible palladium-based H2 sensors have a great potential in advanced sensing applications, as they offer advantages such as light weight, space conservation, and mechanical durability. Despite these advantages, the paucity of such sensors is due to the fact that they are difficult to fabricate while maintaining excellent sensing performance. Here, we demonstrate, using direct nanoimprint lithography of palladium, the fabrication of a flexible, durable, and fast responsive H2 sensor that is capable of detecting H2 gas concentration as low as 50 ppm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProline utilization A (PutA) from Escherichia coli is a membrane-associated trifunctional flavoenzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of proline to glutamate and moonlights as a transcriptional regulator. As a regulatory protein, PutA represses transcription of the put regulon, which contains the genes encoding PutA and the proline transporter PutP. The binding of proline to the proline dehydrogenase active site and the subsequent reduction of the flavin induce high affinity membrane association of PutA and relieve repression of the put regulon, thereby causing PutA to switch from its regulatory to its enzymatic role.
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