Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is nowadays a powerful technique widely used in biosensing and imaging, offering high sensitivity and specificity for detecting and mapping biomolecules. Screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) offer a versatile and cost-effective platform for ECL applications due to their ease of fabrication, disposability, and suitability for large-scale production. This research introduces a novel method for improving the ECL characteristics of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) through the application of CO laser treatment following fabrication.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Telehealth has the potential to improve access to mental health care, especially for people living in rural and remote regions. Yet, telehealth accessibility remains a challenge in Australia, and there is a scarcity of appropriate, psychometrically sound tools for evaluating telehealth use by mental health service users. The aim of this study was to adapt and validate a scale for measuring factors associated with mental healthcare telehealth use.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Surgeon and patient reluctance to participate are potential significant barriers to conducting placebo-controlled trials of orthopaedic surgery. Understanding the preferences of orthopaedic surgeons and patients regarding the design of randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCT-Ps) of knee procedures can help to identify what RCT-P features will lead to the greatest participation. This information could inform future trial designs and feasibility assessments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent (TADF) luminophores offer the potential to achieve 100% Internal Quantum Efficiency (IQE) by harvesting both singlet and triplet excitons reverse intersystem crossing from T to S. This class of molecules has therefore been embraced in the pursuit of cheaper and more efficient electrochemiluminescent (ECL) labels. The present study explores how tuning the electron-donating (D) and -accepting (A) strengths of peripheral substituents affects the ECL emission of mono- and dicyanoarene-based TADF dyes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have investigated the effect of dye distribution on the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) intensity measured with a simplified magnetic bead-based immunoassay for two families of silica nanoparticles (NPs) doped with the cationic Ru(bpy) and the zwitterionic Ru(bpy)bps complexes (bps = bathophenanthroline disulfonate). The NPs doped with the Ru(bpy)bps complex, which can efficiently self-organize in the NP volume favoring ECL generation, resulted in 150-400% signal enhancement compared to the Ru(bpy)-doped ones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cytokine interferon-gamma (IFNγ) plays a multifaceted role in intestinal immune responses ranging from anti- to pro-inflammatory depending on the setting. Here, using a 3D co-culture system based on human intestinal epithelial organoids, we explore the capacity of IFNγ-exposure to reprogram intestinal epithelia and thereby directly modulate lymphocyte responses. IFNγ treatment of organoids led to transcriptional reprogramming, marked by a switch to a pro-inflammatory gene expression profile, including transcriptional upregulation of the chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMental health and substance use disorders affect the lives of many people worldwide. Prevention and treatment of these conditions is important for optimal health and wellbeing, yet service access barriers are common. Virtual models of care may help to reduce barriers to receiving care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
December 2024
A sulfonated tris(1-phenylpyrazolato)iridium(III) complex ([Ir(sppz)]) serves as a proof-of-concept non-emissive enhancer of the widely used ECL detection system of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) ([Ru(bpy)]) with tri-n-propylamine (TPrA) co-reactant, acting through electrocatalysis of TPrA oxidation and efficient chemi-excitation of the luminophore. Using self-interference ECL spectroscopy, we show that the enhancer extends diffusion of the required electrogenerated precursors from the electrode surface. Previously reported enhancement through these pathways has been confounded by the inherent ECL of the enhancer, but the increase in [Ru(bpy)] ECL intensity using [Ir(sppz)] was obtained without its concomitant emission.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study investigated the relationship between numeracy skills (NS) and choice consistency in discrete choice experiments (DCEs).
Methods: A DCE was conducted to explore patients' preferences for kidney transplantation in Italy. Patients completed the DCE and answered 3-item numeracy questions.
We developed a sensing strategy that mimics the bead-based electrogenerated chemiluminescence immunoassay. However, instead of the most common metal complexes, such as Ru or Ir, the luminophore is luminol. The electrogenerated chemiluminescence of luminol was promoted by in situ electrochemical generation of hydrogen peroxide at a boron-doped diamond electrode.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) stands out as a remarkable phenomenon of light emission at electrodes initiated by electrogenerated species in solution. Characterized by its exceptional sensitivity and minimal background optical signals, ECL finds applications across diverse domains, including biosensing, imaging, and various analytical applications. This review aims to serve as a comprehensive guide to the utilization of ECL in analytical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Depression is highly prevalent and associated with increased hospitalisations and mortality among patients with heart failure (HF). This study will evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an online wellbeing program for patients discharged from hospital with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in (i) improving emotional and physical wellbeing, and (ii) decreasing healthcare utilisation.
Methods: Two-arm randomised controlled trial.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most significant public health crises in modern history, with considerable impacts on the policy frameworks of national governments. In response to the pandemic, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and mass vaccination campaigns have been employed to protect vulnerable groups. Through the lens of Political Budget Cycle (PBC) theory, this study explores the interplay between incumbent electoral concerns and political dynamics in influencing the implementation of NPIs and vaccination rollout within the administrative regions of Italy and Spain during the period spanning June 2020 to July 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal economic and health shocks, such as the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic typically impact healthcare financing and delivery. Cutler found that profound societal changes in the 20th century induced three waves of healthcare reform across seven major OECD countries. Our study investigates whether major crises in the 21st century induced similar reform waves.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth systems' insurance/funding can be organised in several ways. Some countries have adopted systems with a mixture of public-private involvement (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cytokine interferon-gamma (IFNγ) plays a multifaceted role in intestinal immune responses ranging from anti-to pro-inflammatory depending on the setting. Here, using a 3D co-culture system based on human intestinal epithelial organoids, we explore the capacity of IFNγ-exposure to reprogram intestinal epithelia and thereby directly modulate lymphocyte responses. IFNγ treatment of organoids led to transcriptional reprogramming, marked by a switch to a pro-inflammatory gene expression profile, including transcriptional upregulation of the chemokines CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn health insurance markets with regulated competition, regulators face the challenge of preventing risk selection. This paper provides a framework for analyzing the scope (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Australian health system is characterised by high quality care by international standards, produced by a mix of public and private provision and funding of healthcare services. Despite good overall results, three issues are of concern. The first issue relates to the public procurement of healthcare, whose flaws have impacted individuals' access to care, and the high out-of-pocket spending.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a highly sensitive mode of detection utilised in commercialised bead-based immunoassays. Recently, the introduction of a freely diffusing water-soluble Ir(iii) complex was demonstrated to enhance the ECL emission of [Ru(bpy)] labels anchored to microbeads, but a comprehensive investigation of the proposed 'redox-mediated' mechanism was not carried out. In this work, we select three different water-soluble Ir(iii) complexes by virtue of their photophysical and electrochemical properties in comparison with those of the [Ru(bpy)] luminophore and the TPrA co-reactant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectrochemiluminescence (ECL) is an optical readout technique that is successfully applied for the detection of biomarkers in body fluids using microbead-based immunoassays. This technology is of utmost importance for in vitro diagnostics and thus a very active research area but is mainly focused on the quest for new dyes and coreactants, whereas the investigation of the ECL optics is extremely scarce. Herein, we report the 3D imaging of the ECL signals recorded at single microbeads decorated with the ECL labels in the sandwich immunoassay format.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs an electrochemical technique offering an optical readout, electrochemiluminescence (ECL) evolved recently into a powerful microscopy technique with the visualization of a wide range of microscopic entities. However, the dynamic imaging of transient ECL events did not receive intensive attention due to the limited number of electrogenerated photons. Here, the reaction kinetics of the model ECL bioassay system was revealed by dynamic imaging of single [Ru(bpy)]-functionalized beads in the presence of the efficient tripropylamine coreactant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Skeletal dysplasias are rare genetic disorders that are characterized by abnormal development of bone and cartilage. There are multiple medical and non-medical treatments for specific symptoms of skeletal dysplasias e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) refers to the phenomenon of light emission from molecular species which is triggered by an electrochemical reaction. Therefore, like most electrochemical systems, the electrode material plays a pivotal role and much effort has been made in order to find the best material for ECL, in terms of light signal intensity and long-term stability, especially after the development of ECL for analytical applications. In this article, we will introduce and highlight the distinctive features of boron-doped diamond (BDD) as an electrode material for ECL which has complementary properties compared to the most common metals (, Au or Pt) and carbon materials (, glassy carbon, carbon nanotubes and graphene).
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