Unveiling the Sorption Properties of Graphene Oxide-M13 Bacteriophage Aerogels for Advanced Sensing and Environmental Applications.

GraPhage13 aerogels (GPAs) are ultralow density, porous structures fabricated through the self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO) and M13 bacteriophage. Given GPA's high surface area and extensive porous network, properties typically associated with highly adsorbent materials, it is essential to characterize its sorption capabilities, with a focus on unlocking its potential for advanced applications in areas such as biomedical sensing and environmental monitoring. Herein, the water, ethanol and acetone sorption properties of GPA were explored using dynamic vapor sorption (DVS).

Advanced biomolecular spectroscopic profiling of cardiovascular disease macromolecular markers: SIL-6, IL-9, LpA, ApoB, PCSK9 and NT-ProBNP for rapid in-situ detection and monitoring.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major global health concern and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early-diagnosis and prompt medical attention are crucial in managing and reducing overall impact on health-and-wellbeing, necessitating the development of innovative diagnostics, which transcend traditional methodologies. Raman spectroscopy uniquely provides molecular fingerprinting and structural information, offering insights into biochemical composition.

Resilient sustainable current and emerging technologies for foodborne pathogen detection.

Foodborne pathogens such as , and pose significant risks to human health. The World Health Organization estimates that 2.2 million deaths per year are directly caused by foodborne and waterborne bacterial diseases worldwide.

Validation of optimised intracranial spectroscopic probe for instantaneous in-situ monitoring and classification of traumatic brain injury.

The development of an optical interface to directly distinguish the brain tissue's biochemistry is the next step in understanding traumatic brain injury (TBI) pathophysiology and the best and most appropriate treatment in cases where in-hospital intracranial access is required. Despite TBI being a globally leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients under 40, there is still a lack of objective diagnostical tools. Further, given its pathophysiological complexity the majority of treatments provided are purely symptomatic without standardized therapeutic targets.

Conductivity optimisation of graphene oxide-M13 bacteriophage nanocomposites: towards graphene-based gas micronano-sensors.

Graphene oxide (GO) and M13 bacteriophage can self-assemble to form ultra-low density porous structures, known as GraPhage13 aerogels (GPA). Due to the insulating nature of GPA and the challenges in producing highly conductive aerogels, it is paramount to explore ways to enhance the conductivity of GPA. Herein, we have developed a method to enhance the conductivity of GPA, via the integration and optimisation of 5 nm and 20 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into the aerogel structure and systematically analysed the morphology, composition and spectroscopic properties of the resulting GPA-Au nanocomposite.

'When is a hotspot a good nanospot' - review of analytical and hotspot-dominated surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy nanoplatforms.

Substrate development in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) continues to attract research interest. In order to determine performance metrics, researchers in foundational SERS studies use a variety of experimental means to characterize the nature of substrates. However, often this process would appear to be performed indiscriminately without consideration for the physical scale of the enhancement phenomena.

Development and application of an optimised Bayesian shrinkage prior for spectroscopic biomedical diagnostics.

Background And Objective: Classification of vibrational spectra is often challenging for biological substances containing similar molecular bonds, interfering with spectral outputs. To address this, various approaches are widely studied. However, whilst providing powerful estimations, these techniques are computationally extensive and frequently overfit the data.

Advanced Tuneable Micronanoplatforms for Sensitive and Selective Multiplexed Spectroscopic Sensing via Electro-Hydrodynamic Surface Molecular Lithography.

Micro- and nanopatterning of materials, one of the cornerstones of emerging technologies, has transformed research capabilities in lab-on-a-chip diagnostics. Herein, a micro- and nanolithographic method is developed, enabling structuring materials at the submicron scale, which can, in turn, accelerate the development of miniaturized platform technologies and biomedical sensors. Underpinning it is the advanced electro-hydrodynamic surface molecular lithography, via inducing interfacial instabilities produces micro- and nanostructured substrates, uniquely integrated with synthetic surface recognition.

Vibrational spectroscopic profiling of biomolecular interactions between oak powdery mildew and oak leaves.

Oak powdery mildew, caused by the biotrophic fungus , is a prevalent disease affecting oak trees, such as English oak (). While mature oak populations are generally less susceptible to this disease, it can endanger young oak seedlings and new leaves on mature trees. Although disruptions of photosynthate and carbohydrate translocation have been observed, accurately detecting and understanding the specific biomolecular interactions between the fungus and the leaves of oak trees is currently lacking.

Advances in lithographic techniques for precision nanostructure fabrication in biomedical applications.

Nano-fabrication techniques have demonstrated their vital importance in technological innovation. However, low-throughput, high-cost and intrinsic resolution limits pose significant restrictions, it is, therefore, paramount to continue improving existing methods as well as developing new techniques to overcome these challenges. This is particularly applicable within the area of biomedical research, which focuses on sensing, increasingly at the point-of-care, as a way to improve patient outcomes.

Hybrid use of Raman spectroscopy and artificial neural networks to discriminate Mycobacterium bovis BCG and other Mycobacteriales.

Even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major public health problem and the 2nd biggest infectious cause of death worldwide. There is, therefore, an urgent need to develop effective TB diagnostic methods, which are cheap, portable, sensitive and specific. Raman spectroscopy is a potential spectroscopic technique for this purpose, however, so far, research efforts have focused primarily on the characterisation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other Mycobacteria, neglecting bacteria within the microbiome and thus, failing to consider the bigger picture.

Raman Spectroscopy Spectral Fingerprints of Biomarkers of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people of all ages around the globe. TBI is notoriously hard to diagnose at the point of care, resulting in incorrect patient management, avoidable death and disability, long-term neurodegenerative complications, and increased costs. It is vital to develop timely, alternative diagnostics for TBI to assist triage and clinical decision-making, complementary to current techniques such as neuroimaging and cognitive assessment.

Window into the mind: Advanced handheld spectroscopic eye-safe technology for point-of-care neurodiagnostic.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, is hard to diagnose at the point of care with patients often exhibiting no clinical symptoms. There is an urgent need for rapid point-of-care diagnostics to enable timely intervention. We have developed a technology for rapid acquisition of molecular fingerprints of TBI biochemistry to safely measure proxies for cerebral injury through the eye, providing a path toward noninvasive point-of-care neurodiagnostics using simultaneous Raman spectroscopy and fundus imaging of the neuroretina.

Optimisation of GraPhage13 macro-dispersibility understanding the pH-dependent ionisation during self-assembly: towards the manufacture of graphene-based nanodevices.

GraPhage13 aerogels (GPAs) are micro-porous structures generated through the self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO) and M13 bacteriophage. As GPA fabrication involves the aggregation of GO and M13 in aqueous solution, we aim to understand its dispersibility across a wide pH range. Herein, a novel technique has been developed to relate the ionisation of functional groups to the surface charge, offering insights into the conditions required for GPA fabrication and the mechanism behind its self-assembly.

Optimization of Nanosubstrates toward Molecularly Surface-Functionalized Raman Spectroscopy.

Diagnostic advancements require continuous developments of reliable analytical sensors, which can simultaneously fulfill many criteria, including high sensitivity and specificity for a broad range of target analytes. Incorporating the highly sensitive attributes of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) combined with highly specific analyte recognition capabilities via molecular surface functionalization could address major challenges in molecular diagnostics and analytical spectroscopy fields. Herein, we have established a controllable molecular surface functionalization process for a series of textured gold surfaces.

Raman Spectroscopy as a Neuromonitoring Tool in Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Clinical Perspectives.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant global health problem, for which no disease-modifying therapeutics are currently available to improve survival and outcomes. Current neuromonitoring modalities are unable to reflect the complex and changing pathophysiological processes of the acute changes that occur after TBI. Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a powerful, label-free, optical tool which can provide detailed biochemical data in vivo.

Review: Emerging Eye-Based Diagnostic Technologies for Traumatic Brain Injury.

The study of ocular manifestations of neurodegenerative disorders, Oculomics, is a growing field of investigation for early diagnostics, enabling structural and chemical biomarkers to be monitored overtime to predict prognosis. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) triggers a cascade of events harmful to the brain, which can lead to neurodegeneration. TBI, termed the "silent epidemic" is becoming a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.

Photobiomodulation reduces hippocampal apoptotic cell death and produces a Raman spectroscopic "signature".

Apoptotic cell death within the brain represents a significant contributing factor to impaired post-traumatic tissue function and poor clinical outcome after traumatic brain injury. After irradiation with light in the wavelength range of 600-1200 nm (photobiomodulation), previous investigations have reported a reduction in apoptosis in various tissues. This study investigates the effect of 660 nm photobiomodulation on organotypic slice cultured hippocampal tissue of rats, examining the effect on apoptotic cell loss.

Spectroscopic molecular-fingerprint profiling of saliva.

Saliva analysis has been gaining interest as a potential non-invasive source of disease indicative biomarkers due to being a complex biofluid correlating with blood-based constituents on a molecular level. For saliva to cement its usage for analytical applications, it is paramount to gain underpinning molecular knowledge and establish a 'baseline' of the salivary composition in healthy individuals as well as characterize how these factors are impacting its performance as potential analytical biofluid. Here, we have systematically studied the molecular spectral fingerprint of saliva, including the changes associated with gender, age, and time.

Spectroscopic profiling variations in extracellular vesicle biochemistry in a model of myogenesis.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold value as accessible biomarkers for understanding cellular differentiation and related pathologies. Herein, EV biomarkers in models of skeletal muscle dormancy and differentiation have been comparatively profiled using Raman spectroscopy (RS). Significant variations in the biochemical fingerprint of EVs were detected, with an elevation in peaks associated with lipid and protein signatures during early myogenic differentiation (day 2).

Raman spectroscopy accurately differentiates mucosal healing from non-healing and biochemical changes following biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Mucosal healing (MH) is a key treatment target in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and is defined in endoscopic terms by the newly published PICaSSO score. Raman Spectroscopy (RS) is based on the scattering of inelastic light giving spectra that are highly specific for individual molecules. We aimed to establish spectral changes before and after treatment and whether Raman Spectroscopy is able to accurately differentiate between inflammation and MH.

Development and Characterization of a Probe Device toward Intracranial Spectroscopy of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, often affecting individuals at their most economically active yet no primary disease-modifying interventions exist for their treatment. Real-time direct spectroscopic examination of the brain tissue within the context of traumatic brain injury has the potential to improve the understanding of injury heterogeneity and subtypes, better target management strategies and organ penetrance of pharmacological agents, identify novel targets for intervention, and allow a clearer understanding of fundamental biochemistry evolution. Here, a novel device is designed and engineered, delivering Raman spectroscopy-based measurements from the brain through clinically established cranial access techniques.