Concanavalin A-conjugated gold nanoparticle/silica quantum dot (AuNPs/SiQDs-Con A)-based platform as a fluorescent nanoprobe for the bioimaging of glycan-positive cancer cells.

The glycan receptor is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol glycoprotein that is overexpressed on the surface of various cancer cells and has been utilized for wide applications. In the present work, the surface of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles (cit-AuNPs) was modified with mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) molecules to provide carboxylic groups for secondary functionalization with amine anchored-silica quantum dots (Si-NH QDs) to produce cit-AuNPs-MPA/Si-NH QDs fluorescent nanoparticles. Concanavalin A (Con A) molecules were attached through thiol-AuNP bonds to produce the final cit-AuNPs/MPA/Si-NH QDs/Con A smart nanoparticles.

Application of Probiotics in Folate Bio-Fortification of Yoghurt.

Folate deficiency is a public health concern affecting all age groups worldwide. The available evidence reveals that adding probiotic bacteria to the yoghurt starter cultures during yoghurt production process under fermentation conditions increases the folate content of yoghurt. The present study was conducted to measure two folate derivatives, i.