Advanced polymeric systems for colon drug delivery: from experimental models to market applications.

In recent years, nano and micro drug delivery systems targeting the colon have gained more attention due to increasing interest in treating colon diseases such as colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease, , Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Usually, nanocarriers are exploited for their enhanced permeability properties, allowing higher penetration effects and bioavailability, while microcarriers are primarily used for localized and sustained release. In bowel diseases, carriers must go into a delicate environment with a strict balance of gut bacteria (, colon), and natural or biodegradable polymers capable of ensuring lower toxicity are preferred.

Infrared Spectroscopic Electronic Noses: An Innovative Approach for Exhaled Breath Sensing.

Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, requiring the urgent development of innovative diagnostic tools for early detection. This study presents an integrated infrared spectroscopic electronic nose system, a novel device that combines infrared (IR) spectroscopy and electronic nose (eNose) concepts for analyzing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath. This system was calibrated using relevant gas mixtures and then tested during a feasibility study involving 26 gastric cancer patients and 32 healthy controls using chemometric analyses to distinguish between exhaled breath profiles.

A step towards non-invasive diagnosis of diabetes mellitus using synthesized MOF-MXene hybrid material with extended gate field-effect transistor integration.

The increasing demand for non-invasive and non-enzymatic glucose sensors is driven by the objective of eliminating the need for blood pricks from the body and enabling enzyme-free detection of glucose for diagnosing diabetes mellitus. To address this need, we synthesized Ni MOF-MXene (Ni) hybrid material through a one-pot synthesis method, which acts as a catalyst to detect salivary glucose using an extended gate field effect transistor (EGFET) method. The resulting sensor exhibits good selectivity towards glucose over common interfering molecules such as sucrose, fructose, maltose, uric acid, and ascorbic acid under physiological conditions in saliva.

One Receptor Show: Evaluation of Feature Extraction Methods for a Single Gas Sensor Based on α-Tocopherol-Substituted Zinc Phthalocyanine.

A consistent part of gas sensor research activities aims to improve sensing performances by synthesizing new sensing materials, improving the selection of elements in arrays, and optimizing the feature extraction and classification algorithms. This paper combines most of these aspects to confer selectivity to a low-selectivity sensor by using feature extraction algorithms applied to the sensor response kinetics. Several algorithms were employed to represent the kinetic behavior of the sensor response during the adsorption and desorption phases.

LNS8801: An enantiomerically pure agonist of the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor suitable for clinical development.

Estrogen effects in tissue are mediated in part through activation of the surface estrogen receptor GPER, a broadly expressed G protein-coupled receptor that impacts a wide range of normal and pathologic processes, including metabolism, vascular health, inflammation, and cancer. A commonly used synthetic and specific GPER agonist, named G-1, antagonizes tumors by promoting cellular differentiation and enhancing tumor immunogenicity. G-1 is a racemic compound, and since its discovery, the question of whether both enantiomers display agonist activity or the agonist activity resides primarily in a single enantiomer has never been fully resolved.

Characterization of bovine serum albumin immobilization on surface modified glass slides in case of pyro-electrohydrodynamic spots.

Background: Pyro-electrohydrodynamic jetting (p-jet) has emerged recently as a promising technique for biosensing applications, through the concentration of highly diluted biomolecules in fluorescent spots at microscale. However, a great challenge still remains in optimizing the binding strategy for the sensing interface, enabling the detection of low abundance proteins through immunofluorescence protocols. Indeed, the surface of reaction can be functionalized with different chemical groups able to bind the target molecule with a strong interaction, prior to the p-jet spots decreasing the possibility to lose sensitivity after the common rinsing steps.

An In Vivo Study of LNS8801, a GPER Agonist, in a Spontaneous Melanoma-Prone Mouse Model, TGS.

Melanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer that arises from the transformation of melanocytes, the pigment producing cells of the skin. In the year 2024 there will be approximately 10,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed and approximately 8,000 deaths attributed to melanoma in the United States. In this study we treated a group of male and female transgenic mice that spontaneously develop metastatic melanoma, TGS, with a G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor agonist LNS8801 to assess the efficacy on disease progression.

Sensitive colorimetric immunosensor using AuNP-functionalized polymer film for picogram-level detection of Tau protein intermediate aggregates.

Here we demonstrate for the first time that an antibody-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-polymer conjugate thin-film biosensor can easily be fabricated to selectively capture Tau protein. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are employed as sensing elements, thus capitalizing on their propensity to undergo assembly or disassembly in response to the adsorption or conjugation of various biomolecules on their surface, thereby forming robust interactions with the target analyte. We show that the Tau protein in its different aggregation phases can be detected, by restricting the reaction area on the solid thin polymer film and thus reducing the diffusion effects usually encountered in immunosensors.

Chiral porphyrin-SiO nano helices-based sensors for vapor enantiomers recognition.

The ability of olfaction to distinguish odors is based on many different properties deriving from the molecular structure, including chirality. Even if the electronic nose (e-nose) concept has been widely used in strict analogy with biological systems to implement sensor arrays that recognize and distinguish complex odor matrices, the fabrication of an enantioselective e-nose remains a challenge. This paper introduces an array of quartz microbalances (QMB) functionalized with sensitive materials made of a combination of achiral receptors and silica nanohelices grafted by chiral and achiral porphyrins.

Clinical applications of volatilomic assays.

The study of metabolomics is revealing immense potential for diagnosis, therapy monitoring, and understanding of pathogenesis processes. Volatilomics is a subcategory of metabolomics interested in the detection of molecules that are small enough to be released in the gas phase. Volatile compounds produced by cellular processes are released into the blood and lymph, and can reach the external environment through different pathways, such as the blood-air interface in the lung that are detected in breath, or the blood-water interface in the kidney that leads to volatile compounds detected in urine.

Biomimetic Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsions as a Suitable Drug Delivery System to Target Inflamed Endothelial Cells.

Currently, the biomimetic approach of drawing inspiration from nature has frequently been employed in designing drug nanocarriers (NCs) of actively target various diseases, ranging from cancer to neuronal and inflammation pathologies. The cell-membrane coating can confer upon the inner nanomaterials a biological identity and the functions exhibited by the cells from which the membrane is derived. Monocyte- and macrophage-membrane-coated nanomaterials have emerged as an ideal delivery system to target inflamed vasculature.

Assessing the safety of bladder-preserving therapy as an alternative to surgical intervention in elderly patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Background: There is interest in using bladder-preserving therapy as an alternative definitive therapy for muscle invasive bladder cancer in certain high-risk groups such as the elderly.

Objective: To determine if bladder-preserving therapy represents a safer alternative to surgical intervention in elderly patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Methods: We surveyed the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database (SEER) for cases of non-metastasized malignant bladder cancer in patients aged 80+.

PEGylated SOCS3 Mimetics Encapsulated into PLGA-NPs as Selective Inhibitors of JAK/STAT Pathway in TNBC Cells.

Introduction: SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 3) protein is a crucial regulator of cytokine-induced inflammation, and its administration has been shown to have therapeutic effects. Recently, we designed a chimeric proteomimetic of SOCS3, mimicking the interfacing regions of a ternary complex composed of SOCS3, JAK2 (Janus kinase 2) and gp130 (glycoprotein 130) proteins. The derived chimeric peptide, KIRCONG chim, demonstrated limited mimetic function owing to its poor water solubility.

Development of an Azobenzene-Based Cell Culture Photoresponsive Platform for In Situ Modulation of Surface Topography in Wet Environments.

Azopolymers are light-responsive materials that hold promise to transform in vitro cell culture systems. Through precise light illumination, they facilitate substrate pattern formation and erasure, allowing for the dynamic control and creation of active interfaces between cells and materials. However, these materials exhibit a tendency to locally detach from the supporting glass in the presence of aqueous solutions, such as cell culture media, due to the formation of blisters, which are liquid-filled cavities generated at the azopolymer film-glass interface.

Comparative Analysis of the Inhibitory Mechanism of Aβ Aggregation by Diruthenium Complexes.

There is a growing interest in the search for metal-based therapeutics for protein misfolding disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A novel and largely unexplored class of metallodrugs is constituted by paddlewheel diruthenium complexes, which exhibit unusual water solubility and stability and unique coordination modes to proteins. Here, we investigate the ability of the complexes [RuCl(DPhF)(OCCH)]·HO (), [RuCl(DPhF)(OCCH)]·HO (), and K[Ru(DPhF)(CO)]·3HO () (DPhF = ,'-diphenylformamidinate) to interfere with the amyloid aggregation of the Aβ peptide.

The effects of histidine substitution of aromatic residues on the amyloidogenic properties of the fragment 264-277 of nucleophosmin 1.

Histidine (His) plays a key role in mediating protein interactions and its unique side chain determines pH responsive self-assembling processes and thus in the formation of nanostructures. In this study, To identify novel self-assembling bioinspired sequences, we analyzed a series of peptide sequences obtained through the point mutation of aromatic residues of 264-277 fragment of nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) with single and double histidines. Through several orthogonal biophysical techniques and under different pH and ionic strength conditions we evaluated the effects of these substitutions in the amyloidogenic features of derived peptides.

Nutritional Traits, Pasting Properties and Antioxidant Profile of Selected Genotypes of Sorghum, Oat and Maize Eligible for Gluten-Free Products.

The technological and nutritional traits of food-grade sorghum hybrids, hulled/naked oat varieties and maize genotypes of different colors were studied for novel and healthier gluten-free foods. Oat genotypes showed the highest protein content, followed by maize and sorghum. The total starch and the total dietary fiber content were quite similar among the three species.

A Polyvinylpyrrolidone Nanofibrous Sensor Doubly Decorated with Mesoporous Graphene to Selectively Detect Acetic Acid Vapors.

An original approach has been proposed for designing a nanofibrous (NF) layer using UV-cured polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a matrix, incorporating mesoporous graphene carbon (MGC) nanopowder both inside and outside the fibers, creating a sandwich-like structure. This architecture is intended to selectively adsorb and detect acetic acid vapors, which are known to cause health issues in exposed workers. The nanocomposite MGC-PVP-NFs layer was fabricated through electrospinning deposition onto interdigitated microelectrodes (IDEs) and stabilized under UV-light irradiation.

Highly sensitive detection of the neurodegenerative biomarker Tau by using the concentration effect of the pyro-electrohydrodynamic jetting.

It is largely documented that neurodegenerative diseases can be effectively treated only if early diagnosed. In this context, the structural changes of some biomolecules such as Tau, seem to play a key role in neurodegeneration mechanism becoming eligible targets for an early diagnosis. Post-translational modifications are responsible to drive the Tau protein towards a transition phase from a native disorder conformation into a preaggregation state, which then straight recruits the final fibrillization process.

Nonenzymatic Potentiometric Detection of Ascorbic Acid with Porphyrin/ZnO-Functionalized Laser-Induced Graphene as an Electrode of EGFET Sensors.

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has emerged as a highly versatile material with significant potential in the development of electrochemical sensors. In this paper, we investigate the use of LIG and LIG functionalized with ZnO and porphyrins-ZnO as the gate electrodes of the extended gate field effect transistors (EGFETs). The resultant sensors exhibit remarkable sensitivity and selectivity, particularly toward ascorbic acid.

Ovariectomy-Induced Arterial Stiffening Differs From Vascular Aging and Is Reversed by GPER Activation.

Background: Arterial stiffness is a cardiovascular risk factor and dramatically increases as women transition through menopause. The current study assessed whether a mouse model of menopause increases arterial stiffness in a similar manner to aging and whether activation of the G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor could reverse stiffness.

Methods: Female C57Bl/6J mice were ovariectomized at 10 weeks of age or aged to 52 weeks, and some mice were treated with G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor agonists.

A Diruthenium Metallodrug as a Potent Inhibitor of Amyloid-β Aggregation: Synergism of Mechanisms of Action.

The physical and chemical properties of paddlewheel diruthenium compounds are highly dependent on the nature of the ligands surrounding the bimetallic core. Herein, we compare the ability of two diruthenium compounds, [RuCl(D--FPhF)(OCCH)]·HO () (D--FPhF = -bis(4-fluorophenyl)formamidinate) and K[Ru(OCO)]·3HO (), to act as inhibitors of amyloid aggregation of the Aβ peptide and its peculiar fragments, Aβ and Aβ. A wide range of biophysical techniques has been used to determine the inhibition capacity against aggregation and the possible mechanism of action of these compounds (Thioflavin T fluorescence and autofluorescence assays, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism, nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and electron scanning microscopy).

Differentiation through E-nose and GC-FID data modeling of rosé sparkling wines elaborated via traditional and Charmat methods.

Background: The growing demand for rosé sparkling wine has led to an increase in its production. Traditional or Charmat wine-making influence the aromatic profiles in wine. An analysis such as gas chromatography makes an accurate assessment of wines based on volatile detection but is resource intensive.