Nanorod inside hollow-nanosphere structured magnetoelectric nanocatalyst for remotely controlled electrocatalysis assisted environmental remediation.

We introduce a highly efficient method for the catalytic breakdown of organic compounds using nanorods embedded within hollow nanospheres structured magnetoelectric nanocatalyst (MENC). MENCs were fabricated through a single-step process utilizing the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique. The dynamic electric dipole generation capability due to synergistic interaction between nanorods at the core and the hollow nanosphere shell creates a nanoscale magnetoelectric device capable of electrocatalysis-assisted water purification through advanced oxidation processes under remotely applied magnetic field excitation.

Photoinduced Electron-Transfer-Mediated Differential Recognition of Proteins on Plasmonic Surfaces.

Photoinduced enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PIERS) has emerged as an efficient technique for enhancing the vibrational modes of analyte molecules adsorbed on a plasmonic nanoparticle-semiconductor hybrid material through chemical enhancement governed by electron transfer from the semiconductor to the plasmonic nanoparticles under an additional ultraviolet (UV) preirradiation step. The increase in chemical enhancement is imperative in analyzing and detecting pharmaceutically important moieties, such as amino acids and proteins, with a low Raman scattering cross section, even in complex biological environments. Herein, we demonstrate that UV preirradiation induced the creation of additional oxygen vacancies by introducing a low concentration (≈1%) of Ni as a dopant in the 2D platelike morphology of the BiOCl semiconductor; i.

Remotely Controlled Surface Charge Modulation of Magnetoelectric Nanogenerators for Swift and Efficient Drug Delivery.

We have developed a highly efficient technique of magnetically controlled swift loading and release of doxorubicin (DOX) drug using a magnetoelectric nanogenerator (MENG). Core-shell nanostructured MENG with a magnetostrictive core and piezoelectric shell act as field-responsive nanocarriers and possess the capability of field-triggered drug release in a cancerous environment. MENGs generate a surface electric dipole when subjected to a magnetic field due to the strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect.

Imaging of intracellular protein aggregates through plasmon-assisted clusteroluminescence.

The formation of clusters in non-aromatic molecules can give rise to unconventional luminescence or clusteroluminescence. Typically containing heteroatoms without extended conjugation or aromatic rings, these molecules have drawn much attention owing to the prospects of label-free biological imaging. However, their applications have been limited due to the lack of knowledge of the underlying mechanism.

Evolution of Mn-BiO from the Mn-doped BiOBr electro(pre)catalyst during the oxygen evolution reaction.

Mn-doped BiOBr has been synthesized using a solvothermal route. The undoped BiOBr and Mn-BiOBr materials possess orthorhombic unit cells with two distinct Bi sites forming a layered atomic arrangement. The shift in the (020) plane in the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern confirms Mn-doping in the BiOBr lattice.

Reverse stable isotope labelling with Raman spectroscopy for microbial proteomics.

Global proteome changes in microbes affect the survival and overall production of commercially relevant metabolites through different bioprocesses. The existing methods to monitor proteome level changes are destructive in nature. Stable isotope probing (SIP) coupled with Raman spectroscopy is a relatively new approach for proteome analysis.

Photoactivated plasmonic nanohybrid fibers with prolonged trapping of excited charge carriers for SERS analysis of biomolecules.

The quest to enhance Raman spectroscopic signals through the rational design of plasmonic substrates has enabled the detection and characterization of pharmaceutically important molecules with low scattering cross-sections, such as amino acids and proteins, and is helping in making forays into the diverse field of biomedical sciences. This work presents a simple strategy for synthesizing silver nanoparticles-incorporated alumina nanofibers (Ag-AlNFs) utilizing controlled microwave synthesis for enhancing the surface-enhanced Raman chemical enhancement factor through photo-induced charge accumulation at the plasmonic-dielectric interface. The plasmonic-dielectric fibers serve as excellent charge carrier trappers, as evident from the ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy studies.

Raman spectroscopy and its plasmon-enhanced counterparts: A toolbox to probe protein dynamics and aggregation.

Protein unfolding and aggregation are often correlated with numerous diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and other debilitating neurological disorders. Such adverse events consist of a plethora of competing mechanisms, particularly interactions that control the stability and cooperativity of the process. However, it remains challenging to probe the molecular mechanism of protein dynamics such as aggregation, and monitor them in real-time under physiological conditions.

Monitoring the lipid oxidation and fatty acid profile of oil using algorithm-assisted surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

Deep-fat frying of food develops lipid oxidation products that deteriorate oil and pose a health risk. This necessitates the development of a rapid and accurate oil quality and safety detection technique. Herein, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and sophisticated chemometric techniques were used for rapid and label-free determination of peroxide value (PV) and fatty acid composition of oil in-situ.

Emergence of Raman Spectroscopy as a Probing Tool for Theranostics.

Although medical advances have increased our grasp of the amazing morphological, genetic, and phenotypic diversity of diseases, there are still significant technological barriers to understanding their complex and dynamic character. Specifically, the complexities of the biological systems throw a diverse set of challenges in developing efficient theranostic tools and methodologies that can probe and treat pathologies. Among several emerging theranostic techniques such as photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography, Raman spectroscopy (RS) is emerging as a promising tool that is a label-free, cost-effective, and non-destructive technique.

Probing plasmon-induced surface reactions using two-dimensional correlation vibrational spectroscopy.

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has the ability to drive catalytic conversion of the reactant molecules the production of hot electrons, which in general requires high activation energy. The reactions driven by these hot electrons are critical and essential in various heterogeneous surface catalytic reactions. However, there is a need to understand the dynamics of surface reactions and the underlying mechanism, which are influenced by several factors such as the constitution of the nanoparticle, exposure time, and reaction conditions to name a few.

Ion-Mediated Protein Stabilization on Nanoscopic Surfaces.

The emergence of nanoparticles in biomedical applications has made their interactions with proteins inevitable. Nanoparticles conjugated with proteins and peptide-based constructs form an integral part of nanotherapeutics and have recently shown promise in treating a myriad of diseases. The proper functioning of proteins is critical to achieve their biological functions.

Monitoring of microbial proteome dynamics using Raman stable isotope probing.

Abnormal protein kinetics could be a cause of several diseases associated with essential life processes. An accurate understanding of protein dynamics and turnover is essential for developing diagnostic or therapeutic tools to monitor these changes. Raman spectroscopy in combination with stable isotope probes (SIP) such as carbon-13, and deuterium has been a breakthrough in the qualitative and quantitative study of various metabolites.

Spectroscopy-Assisted Label-free Molecular Analysis of Live Cell Surface with Vertically Aligned Plasmonic Nanopillars.

A generalized label-free platform for surface-selective molecular sensing in living cells can transform the ability to examine complex events in the cell membrane. While vertically aligned semiconductor and metal-semiconductor hybrid nanopillars have rapidly surfaced for stimulating and probing the intracellular environment, the potential of such constructs for selectively interrogating the cell membrane is surprisingly underappreciated. In this work, a new platform, entitled nano-PROD (nano-pillar based Raman optical detection), enables molecular recording by probing fundamental vibrational modes of membrane constituents of cells adherent on a large-area silver-coated silicon nanopillar substrate fabricated using a precursor solution-based nanomanufacturing process.

Divalent Ion-Induced Switch in DNA Cleavage of KpnI Endonuclease Probed through Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

We demonstrate the remarkable ability of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to track the allosteric changes in restriction endonuclease KpnI (R.KpnI) caused by metal ions. R.

Furin-Mediated Self-Assembly of Olsalazine Nanoparticles for Targeted Raman Imaging of Tumors.

Olsalazine (Olsa) is a broad-spectrum anti-cancer agent acting as a DNA-methylation inhibitor. When conjugated to 2-cyano-6-aminobenzothiazole and a peptide substrate specific for the tumor-overexpressed enzyme furin, it can self-assemble into nanoparticles that can be detected by chemical-exchange saturation-transfer magnetic-resonance imaging (CEST MRI). We report here that these nano-assemblies can also be detected with high specificity in furin-overexpressing tumor cells by Raman spectroscopy with a distinct scattering signature and demonstrate the utility of this sensing mechanism in vitro and in vivo.

Rapid, Label-free Optical Spectroscopy Platform for Diagnosis of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia.

The use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to determine spectral markers for the diagnosis of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), a difficult-to-diagnose immune-related complication that often leads to limb ischemia and thromboembolism, is proposed. The ability to produce distinct molecular signatures without the addition of labels enables unbiased inquiry and makes SERS an attractive complementary diagnostic tool. A capillary-tube-derived SERS platform offers ultrasensitive, label-free measurement as well as efficient handling of blood serum samples.

Furin-mediated intracellular self-assembly of olsalazine nanoparticles for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and tumour therapy.

Among the strategies used for enhancement of tumour retention of imaging agents or anticancer drugs is the rational design of probes that undergo a tumour-specific enzymatic reaction preventing them from being pumped out of the cell. Here, the anticancer agent olsalazine (Olsa) was conjugated to the cell-penetrating peptide RVRR. Taking advantage of a biologically compatible condensation reaction, single Olsa-RVRR molecules were self-assembled into large intracellular nanoparticles by the tumour-associated enzyme furin.

Shedding Light on the Trehalose-Enabled Mucopermeation of Nanoparticles with Label-Free Raman Spectroscopy.

Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have attracted significant interest owing to their promise as tunable platforms that offer improved intracellular release of cargo therapeutics. However, significant challenges remain in maintaining the physiological stability of the mucosal matrix due to the nanoparticle-induced reduction in the matrix diffusivity and promotion of mucin aggregation. Such aggregation also adversely impacts the permeability of the nanoparticles, and thus, diminishes the efficacy of nanoparticle-based formulations.

Exploring Morphological and Biochemical Linkages in Fungal Growth with Label-Free Light Sheet Microscopy and Raman Spectroscopy.

Imaging tip growth in fungal hyphae is highly warranted to unravel the molecular mechanism of this extraordinarily precise and localized phenomenon. In situ probing of fungal cultures, however, have been challenging due to their inherent complexity and light penetration issues associated with conventional optical imaging. In this work, we report a label-free approach using a combination of light sheet microscopy and Raman spectroscopy to obtain concomitant morphological and biochemical information from the growing specimen.

An impediment to random walk: trehalose microenvironment drives preferential endocytic uptake of plasmonic nanoparticles.

Developing effective theranostic nanoplex platforms for personalized disease treatment necessitates an understanding of and the ability to control live cell-nanoparticle interactions. However, aggregation of nanoparticles on the cell surface and their subsequent internalization is sparsely understood and adversely impact cellular recognition and viability. Here we report a facile method of precisely modulating the aggregation and uptake for silver nanoparticles without altering their surface geometry or functionalization.

Rapid Identification of Biotherapeutics with Label-Free Raman Spectroscopy.

Product identification is a critical and required analysis for biotheraputics. In addition to regulatory requirements for identity testing on final drug products, in-process identity testing is implemented to reduce business risks associated with fill operations and can also be used as a tool against counterfeiting. Biotherapeutics, in particular monoclonal antibodies, represent a challenging cohort for identity determination because of their similarity in chemical structure.

A Dual Non-ATP Analogue Inhibitor of Aurora Kinases A and B, Derived from Resorcinol with a Mixed Mode of Inhibition.

Aurora kinases are the most commonly targeted mitotic kinases in the intervention of cancer progression. Here, we report a resorcinol derivative, 5-methyl-4-(2-thiazolylazo) resorcinol (PTK66), a dual inhibitor of Aurora A and Aurora B kinases. PTK66 is a surface binding non-ATP analogue inhibitor that shows a mixed pattern of inhibition against both of Aurora A and B kinases.