Methods of detection of β-galactosidase enzyme in living cells.

The application of β-galactosidase enzyme ranges from industrial use as probiotics to medically important application such as cancer detection. The irregular activities of β-galactosidase enzyme are directly related to the development of cancers. Identifying the location and expression levels of enzymes in cancer cells have considerable importance in early-stage cancer diagnosis and monitoring the efficacy of therapies.

Crossing the blood-brain barrier with carbon dots: uptake mechanism and cargo delivery.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major obstacle for drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) such that most therapeutics lack efficacy against brain tumors or neurological disorders due to their inability to cross the BBB. Therefore, developing new drug delivery platforms to facilitate drug transport to the CNS and understanding their mechanism of transport are crucial for the efficacy of therapeutics. Here, we report (i) carbon dots prepared from glucose and conjugated to fluorescein (GluCD-F) cross the BBB in zebrafish and rats without the need of an additional targeting ligand and (ii) uptake mechanism of GluCDs is glucose transporter-dependent in budding yeast.

Interfacial Behavior of Fumonisin B1 Toxin and Its Degradation on the Membrane.

Fumonisin B1 (FB1), the most abundant component of the fumonisin family, is highly responsible for fungal infections. In this paper, our main aim is to study the surface chemistry and spectroscopic properties of the FB1 molecule and observe the impact of green LED light on the FB1 Langmuir monolayer. From the surface chemistry and spectroscopic studies, we found that the FB1 molecule forms a self-assembled Langmuir monolayer which is sufficient to mimic its interaction with the corneal tissues.