A dual strategy for sensing metals with a nano 'pincer' scavenger for in vitro diagnostics and detection of liver diseases from blood samples.

This work presents a dual, non-invasive approach for the detection of elevated level of metals in patients with liver disease. A highly sensitive, small molecule 'pincer' scavenger was synthesized for the detection and quantification of copper in serum and systemically in vivo. For the in vitro diagnostics, the developed technique involves only a routine capillary blood sampling or venipuncture, removing the need for invasive biopsies.

Next generation carbon nanoparticles for efficient gene therapy.

In a pursuit to develop a commercially exploitable and traceable gene delivery vehicle, here, we develop next generation carbon nanoparticle-DNA complex (CNPLex). CNPLexes were used to transfect green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene containing plasmid DNA (pDNA) pEGFP-N1 targeting breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA-MB231. Prepared CNPs were optimized for particle size, surface potential, polymer surface decoration, absorbance efficiency, fluorescence efficiency, IR spectroscopic signatures, and DNA loading and release efficiencies.