Publications by authors named "Lubna Amer"
Article Synopsis
- Plasmonic nanoparticle-based biosensors face challenges in detecting microorganisms in complex biofluids, but a new sensor array uses the dissociation of peptide-aggregated nanoparticles with HS-PEG polymers for improved detection.
- The study reveals that HS-PEGs of different sizes effectively dissociate gold and silver nanoparticle clusters, allowing for the discrimination of various bacteria, fungi, and viruses in saliva and water at a high confidence level.
- The sensor array successfully identified specific subtypes of viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and influenza, and differentiated between healthy saliva and samples from patients with periodontitis or COVID-19.
and are prevalent in the subgingival area where the frequency of fungal colonization increases with periodontal disease. Candida's transition to a pathogenic state and its interaction with exacerbate periodontal disease severity. However, current treatments for these infections differ, and combined therapy remains unexplored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriggering lysosome-regulated immunogenic cell death (ICD, e.g., pyroptosis and necroptosis) with nanomedicines is an emerging approach for turning an "immune-cold" tumor "hot"-a key challenge faced by cancer immunotherapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report the controlled release of an antimicrobial peptide using enzyme-activatable prodrugs to treat and detect and . Our motivation lies in the prevalence of these microorganisms in the subgingival area where the frequency of fungal colonization increases with periodontal disease. This work is based on an antimicrobial peptide that is both therapeutic and induces a color change in a nanoparticle reporter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGoldilocks Energy Minimum: Peptide-Based Reversible Aggregation and Biosensing.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces
September 2023
Colorimetric biosensors based on gold nanoparticle (AuNP) aggregation are often challenged by matrix interference in biofluids, poor specificity, and limited utility with clinical samples. Here, we propose a peptide-driven nanoscale disassembly approach, where AuNP aggregates induced by electrostatic attractions are dissociated in response to proteolytic cleavage. Initially, citrate-coated AuNPs were assembled via a short cationic peptide (RRK) and characterized by experiments and simulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study explores how silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can reversibly aggregate when combined with a specific peptide and polyethylene glycol (PEG), with optimal dissociation occurring at a PEG molecular weight of 1 kDa, significantly impacted by the peptide sequence and PEG size.
- - This dissociation technique is effective in various complex biofluids, maintaining stability under different conditions, such as drying and rehydration, freezing and thawing, or prolonged light exposure.
- - A novel PEG-peptide hybrid molecule was created to specifically detect the RgpB protease linked to periodontitis and chronic diseases, achieving a 40% detection rate in gingival crevicular fluid without false negatives, which demonstrates the method's potential
Better insights into the fate of membraneless organelles could strengthen the understanding of the transition from prebiotic components to multicellular organisms. Compartmentalized enzyme reactions in a synthetic coacervate have been investigated, yet there remains a gap in understanding the enzyme interactions with coacervate as a substrate hub. Here, we study how the molecularly crowded nature of the coacervate affects the interactions of the embedded substrate with a protease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF