Field-deployable pencil lead-based electrochemical cell for the determination of the emerging contaminant and antidepressant drug venlafaxine in wastewater.

Screening and quantification of emerging contaminants in water is of enormous relevance due to its scarcity and harmful effects on aquatic life and human health. We present a simple and cost-effective electrochemical cell for determination of the antidepressant venlafaxine, an emerging contaminant included in the EU Watch list 2022. The cell consists of pencil leads used as electrodes and a microcentrifuge tube.

Design and evaluation of a bilayered dermal/hypodermal 3D model using a biomimetic hydrogel formulation.

Due to the limitations of the current skin wound treatments, it is highly valuable to have a wound healing formulation that mimics the extracellular matrix (ECM) and mechanical properties of natural skin tissue. Here, a novel biomimetic hydrogel formulation has been developed based on a mixture of Agarose-Collagen Type I (AC) combined with skin ECM-related components: Dermatan sulfate (DS), Hyaluronic acid (HA), and Elastin (EL) for its application in skin tissue engineering (TE). Different formulations were designed by combining AC hydrogels with DS, HA, and EL.

Measurement of GFAP in Nasal Exudate in the Differential Diagnosis between Ischemic Stroke and Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Background: Differential diagnosis between ischemic stroke (IS) and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a great challenge. Recently, the discovery of cerebral lymphatic drainage toward the nostrils suggested nasal exudate (NE) as a new source for measuring biomarkers from neural damage.

Objectives: In this study, we sought to confirm whether glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels in NE could identify ICH.

Electrocatalytic Palladium Nanoclusters as Versatile Indicators of Bioassays: Rapid Electroanalytical Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification.

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is considered the gold standard for pathogen detection. However, improvement is still required, especially regarding the possibilities of decentralization. Apart from other reasons, infectious diseases demand on-site analysis to avoid pathogen spreading and increase treatment efficacy.

Electrochemical Detection for Isothermal Loop-Mediated Amplification of Pneumolysin Gene of Based on the Oxidation of Phenol Red Indicator.

A highly sensitive electrochemical methodology for end-point detection of loop-mediated isothermal nucleic acid amplification reactions was developed. It is based on the oxidation process of phenol red (PR), commonly used as a visual indicator. The dependence of its redox process on pH, which changes during amplification, allows performing quantitative measurements.