Molecular Display of the Animal Meta-Venome for Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Peptides.

Animal venoms, distinguished by their unique structural features and potent bioactivities, represent a vast and relatively untapped reservoir of therapeutic molecules. However, limitations associated with comprehensively constructing and expressing highly complex venom and venom-like molecule libraries have precluded their therapeutic evaluation via high throughput screening. Here, we developed an innovative computational approach to design a highly diverse library of animal venoms and "metavenoms".

Molecular Display of the Animal Meta-Venome for Discovery of Novel Therapeutic Peptides.

Animal venoms, distinguished by their unique structural features and potent bioactivities, represent a vast and relatively untapped reservoir of therapeutic molecules. However, limitations associated with extracting or expressing large numbers of individual venoms and venom-like molecules have precluded their therapeutic evaluation via high throughput screening. Here, we developed an innovative computational approach to design a highly diverse library of animal venoms and "metavenoms".

Barcoding intracellular reverse transcription enables high-throughput phenotype-coupled T cell receptor analyses.

Assays linking cellular phenotypes with T cell or B cell antigen receptor sequences are crucial for characterizing adaptive immune responses. Existing methodologies are limited by low sample throughput and high cost. Here, we present INtraCEllular Reverse Transcription with Sorting and sequencing (INCERTS), an approach that combines molecular indexing of receptor repertoires within intact cells and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS).

Adaptive Nanoparticle Platforms for High Throughput Expansion and Detection of Antigen-Specific T cells.

T cells are critical players in disease; yet, their antigen-specificity has been difficult to identify, as current techniques are limited in terms of sensitivity, throughput, or ease of use. To address these challenges, we increased the throughput and translatability of magnetic nanoparticle-based artificial antigen presenting cells (aAPCs) to enrich and expand (E+E) murine or human antigen-specific T cells. We streamlined enrichment, expansion, and aAPC production processes by enriching CD8+ T cells directly from unpurified immune cells, increasing parallel processing capacity of aAPCs in a 96-well plate format, and designing an adaptive aAPC that enables multiplexed aAPC construction for E+E and detection.

Collateral fitness effects of mutations.

The distribution of fitness effects of mutation plays a central role in constraining protein evolution. The underlying mechanisms by which mutations lead to fitness effects are typically attributed to changes in protein specific activity or abundance. Here, we reveal the importance of a mutation's collateral fitness effects, which we define as effects that do not derive from changes in the protein's ability to perform its physiological function.

Inhibition of Periodontitis Induction Using a Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel Carrying Naringin.

Background: Developing a drug carrier with favorable handling characteristics that can respond to environmental changes after inflammation, such as pH changes, may be beneficial for treating periodontitis. This study aims to investigate the preclinical feasibility of using naringin, a naturally derived polymethoxylated flavonoid compound with anti-inflammatory properties, to inhibit periodontitis induction via a thermogelling and pH-responsive injectable hydrogel.

Methods: The hydrogel was made of amphipathic carboxymethyl-hexanoyl chitosan (CHC), β-glycerol phosphate (β-GP), and glycerol.

Hexanoyl-Chitosan-PEG Copolymer Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Hydrophobic Drug Delivery.

Nanoparticle (NP) formulations may be used to improve efficacy of hydrophobic drugs by circumventing solubility issues and providing targeted delivery. In this study, we developed a hexanoyl-chitosan-PEG (CP6C) copolymer coated, paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded, and chlorotoxin (CTX) conjugated iron oxide NP (CTX-PTX-NP) for targeted delivery of PTX to human glioblastoma (GBM) cells. We modified chitosan with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hexanoyl groups to obtain the amphiphilic CP6C.

Injectable insulin-lysozyme-loaded nanogels with enzymatically-controlled degradation and release for basal insulin treatment: In vitro characterization and in vivo observation.

Diabetes is a common global disease that causes immense suffering for individuals and huge costs for the health care system. To minimize complications such as organ degeneration, diabetic patients are required to undergo treatments to maintain the blood glucose level in the normal range, ideally mimicking normal insulin secretion. The normal physiological insulin secretion pattern in healthy individuals consists of a base (basal) level through the day and increased secretion after meals (bolus insulin).

Stable and efficient Paclitaxel nanoparticles for targeted glioblastoma therapy.

Development of efficient nanoparticles (NPs) for cancer therapy remains a challenge. NPs are required to have high stability, uniform size, sufficient drug loading, targeting capability, and ability to overcome drug resistance. In this study, the development of a NP formulation that can meet all these challenging requirements for targeted glioblastoma multiform (GBM) therapy is reported.

Chitosan-PEG hydrogel with sol-gel transition triggerable by multiple external stimuli.

Smart hydrogels play an increasingly important role in biomedical applications, since materials that are both biocompatible and multi-stimuli-responsive are highly desirable. A simple, organic solvent-free method is presented to synthesize a biocompatible hydrogel that undergoes a sol-gel transition in response to multiple stimuli. Methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) is modified into carboxylic-acid-terminated-methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG-acid), which is then grafted onto chitosan via amide linkages yielding mPEG-g-chitosan.

A pH-responsive amphiphilic chitosan-pyranine core-shell nanoparticle for controlled drug delivery, imaging and intracellular pH measurement.

A pH-responsive multifunctional core-shell nanoparticle, named CHC-PY nanoparticle, was successfully synthesized through electrostatic interaction of a thin shell of fluorescent pyranine dye (PY) with amphiphilic carboxymethylhexanoyl chitosan (CHC) nanoparticles. Upon encapsulating an anticancer drug, camptothecin (CPT), the CHC-PY nanoparticles exhibited an excellent drug loading efficiency (>95%). The resulting CPT-loaded CHC-PY nanoparticles also exhibited efficient cell internalization and good pH-responsive behavior.

A temperature-induced and shear-reversible assembly of latanoprost-loaded amphiphilic chitosan colloids: characterization and in vivo glaucoma treatment.

Hydrogels composed of assembled colloids is a material class that is currently receiving much interest and shows great promise for use in biomedical applications. This emerging material class presents unique properties derived from the combination of nanosized domains in the form of colloidal particles with a continuous gel network and an interspersed liquid phase. Here we developed an amphiphilic chitosan-based, thermogelling, shear-reversible colloidal gel system for improved glaucoma treatment and addressed how preparation procedures and loading with the anti-glaucoma drug latanoprost and commonly used preservative benzalkonium chloride influenced the mechanical properties of and drug release from the colloidal gels.

Highly electrostatically-induced detection selectivity and sensitivity for a colloidal biosensor made of chitosan nanoparticle decorated with a few bare-surfaced gold nanorods.

Metallic nanoparticles have been utilized as an analytical tool to detecting a wide variety of organic analytes. Among them, gold nanoparticles demonstrating outstanding surface plasmonic resonance property have been well recognized and received wide attention for plasmon-based sensing applications. However, in literature, gold-based nanosensor has to be integrated with specific "ligand" molecule in order to gain molecular recognition ability.

Nano-hybrid carboxymethyl-hexanoyl chitosan modified with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane for camptothecin delivery.

Silane-modified amphiphilic chitosan was synthesized by anchoring a silane coupling agent, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, to a novel amphiphilic carboxymethyl-hexanoyl chitosan (CHC). The chemical structure of this new organic-inorganic hybrid molecule was characterized by FTIR and 13C-, 29Si-nuclear magnetic resonance, while the structural evolution was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Experimental results indicated a self-assembly behaviour of molecules into nanoparticles with a stable polygonal geometry, consisting of ordered silane layers of 6 nm in thickness.

Design and characterization of a novel amphiphilic chitosan nanocapsule-based thermo-gelling biogel with sustained in vivo release of the hydrophilic anti-epilepsy drug ethosuximide.

Thermo-gelling injectable nanogels, with no burst release of loaded drug, were prepared by a simple route by combining self assembled nanocapsules of amphiphilically modified chitosan with glycerophosphate di-sodium salt and glycerol. The potential as a depot drug delivery system was demonstrated in vivo through the therapeutic effect of ethosuximide (ESM) loaded nanogels, suppressing spike wave discharges (SWDs) in Long Evan rat model. Simultaneously clearance of gels from the site of administration was monitored non-invasively using MRI.