An RNA origami robot that traps and releases a fluorescent aptamer.

RNA nanotechnology aims to use RNA as a programmable material to create self-assembling nanodevices for application in medicine and synthetic biology. The main challenge is to develop advanced RNA robotic devices that both sense, compute, and actuate to obtain enhanced control over molecular processes. Here, we use the RNA origami method to prototype an RNA robotic device, named the "Traptamer," that mechanically traps the fluorescent aptamer, iSpinach.

Computer-Aided Design and Production of RNA Origami as Protein Scaffolds and Biosensors.

RNA nanotechnology is able to take advantage of the modularity of RNA to build a wide variety of structures and functional devices from a common set of structural modules. The RNA origami architecture harnesses the property of RNA to fold as it is being enzymatically synthesized by the RNA polymerase and enables the design of single-stranded devices that integrate multiple structural and functional RNA motifs. Here, we provide detailed procedures on how to design and characterize RNA origami structures.

Ga-67 SPECT to detect endocarditis after replacement of an aortic valve.

Ga-67 SPECT was crucial in making the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis in a 28-year-old man with a history of aortic valve replacement who was referred to the nuclear medicine service because of persistent fever. In the planar left anterior oblique view, an area of slight, diffuse activity was noted. The shape and site of the infectious focus were well defined by Ga-67 SPECT.

Assessment of cerebral perfusion and cerebrovascular reserve in insulin-dependent diabetic patients without central neurological symptoms by means of 99mTc-HMPAO SPET with acetazolamide.

The detection of subclinical abnormalities in cerebral blood flow could be of great value in identifying diabetic patients at risk of stroke. The aim of this study was to assess the contribution of semiquantified post-acetazolamide technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission tomography (99mTc-HMPAO SPET) in 15 diabetic patients with no clinical history of central neurological disease. After baseline 99mTc-HMPAO SPET, a second SPET scan was acquired after activation of the cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) with an injection of 1 g of acetazolamide (post-ACZ SPET).

[Perfusion SPECT with (99m)Tc-HMPAO in type I diabetics with no background of central neurologic symptoms. A study of activation with acetazolamide].

Objective: This study aimed to assess if activation with acetazolamide increases the diagnostic capacity of baseline SPECT with (99m)Tc-HMPAO in the study of brain perfusion in type I diabetic patients with no history of neurological symptoms.

Material And Methods: A baseline SPECT was carried out in 11 diabetes mellitus type I patients with no neurological symptoms with 555 MBq of (99m)Tc-HMPAO; 1 g of acetazolamide was administered during the examination and a second SPECT was obtained 20' later with the same methodology used in the baseline SPECT. The images were visually analyzed.