Wireless Wearable Ultrasound Sensor to Characterize Respiratory Behavior.

A wireless wearable sensor on a paper substrate was used to continuously monitor respiratory behavior that can extract and deliver clinically relevant respiratory parameters to a smartphone. Intended to be placed horizontally at the midpoint of the costal margin and the xiphoid process as determined through anatomical analysis and experimental test, the wearable sensor is compact at only 40 × 35 × 6 mm in size and 6.5 g weight including a 2.

Wireless Wearable Ultrasound Sensor on a Paper Substrate to Characterize Respiratory Behavior.

Respiratory behavior contains crucial parameters to feature lung functionality, including respiratory rate, profile, and volume. The current well-adopted method to characterize respiratory behavior is spirometry using a spirometer, which is bulky, heavy, expensive, requires a trained provider to operate, and is incapable of continuous monitoring of respiratory behavior, which is often critical to assess chronic respiratory diseases. This work presents a wireless wearable sensor on a paper substrate that is capable of continuous monitoring of respiratory behavior and delivering the clinically relevant respiratory information to a smartphone.

HER2 Targeting Peptides Screening and Applications in Tumor Imaging and Drug Delivery.

Herein, computational-aided one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) peptide library design combined with in situ single-bead sequencing microarray methods were successfully applied in screening peptides targeting at human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), a biomarker of human breast cancer. As a result, 72 novel peptides clustered into three sequence motifs which are PYL***NP, YYL***NP and PPL***NP were acquired. Particularly one of the peptides, P51, has nanomolar affinity and high specificity for HER2 in ex vivo and in vivo tests.

Discovering of Tumor-targeting Peptides using Bi-functional Microarray.

A bi-functional microarray for in situ peptide screening is presented herein, from which an affinity peptide towards EpCAM is screened out for tumor cell capture.

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Cellular Resistance to the Nanoparticle Abraxane.

Abraxane, an FDA-approved albumin-bound nanoparticle (NP) form of paclitaxel (PTX) to treat breast cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has been demonstrated to be more effective than the original Taxol, the single molecule form. We have established a cell line from NSCLC A549 cells to be resistant to Abraxane. To further understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the NP drug resistance, global protein expression profiles of Abraxane sensitive (A549) and resistant cells (A549/Abr), along with the treatment of Abraxane, have been obtained by a quantitative proteomic approach.

Structure-based Design of Peptides with High Affinity and Specificity to HER2 Positive Tumors.

To identify peptides with high affinity and specificity against human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a series of peptides were designed based on the structure of HER2 and its Z(HER2:342) affibody. By using a combination protocol of molecular dynamics modeling, MM/GBSA binding free energy calculations, and binding free energy decomposition analysis, two novel peptides with 27 residues, pep27 and pep27-24M, were successfully obtained. Immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry analysis verified that both peptides can specifically bind to the extracellular domain of HER2 protein at cellular level.

Microarray based screening of peptide nano probes for HER2 positive tumor.

Peptides are excellent biointerface molecules and diagnostic probes with many advantages such as good penetration, short turnover time, and low cost. We report here an efficient peptide screening strategy based on in situ single bead sequencing on a microarray. Two novel peptides YLFFVFER (H6) and KLRLEWNR (H10) specifically binding to the tumor biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) with aKD of 10(-8) M were obtained from a 10(5) library.

Abraxane, the Nanoparticle Formulation of Paclitaxel Can Induce Drug Resistance by Up-Regulation of P-gp.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) can actively pump paclitaxel (PTX) out of cells and induces drug resistance. Abraxane, a nanoparticle (NP) formulation of PTX, has multiple clinical advantages over the single molecule form. However, it is still unclear whether Abraxane overcomes the common small molecule drug resistance problem mediated by P-gp.

Label-free detection microarray for novel peptide ligands screening base on MS-SPRi combination.

Peptides ligands with high affinity and high specificity towards specific targets is catching a good deal of interests in biomedical field. Traditional peptide screening procedure involves selection, sequencing and characterization and each step is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The combination between different analytical methods could provide an integrated plan for efficient peptide screening.

Label-free detection of Alzheimer's disease through the ADP3 peptoid recognizing the serum amyloid-beta42 peptide.

The early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is challenging due to the lack of reliable methods for detecting its biomarkers in the noninvasive biopsies. We used surface plasmon resonance imaging to identify AD based on the detection of amyloid-beta42 in the serum by the ADP3 peptoid.

Rapid screening of peptide probes through in situ single-bead sequencing microarray.

Peptide ligands as targeting probes for in vivo imaging and drug delivery have attracted great interest in the biomedical community. However, high affinity and specificity screening of large peptide libraries remains a tedious process. Here, we report a continuous-flow microfluidic method for one-bead-one-compound (OBOC) combinatorial peptide library screening.

A flexible microneedle array as low-voltage electroporation electrodes for in vivo DNA and siRNA delivery.

In vivo electroporation is an appealing method to deliver nucleic acid into living tissues, but the clinical application of such a method was limited due to severe tissue damage and poor coverage of the tissue surface. Here we present the validation of a novel flexible microneedle array electrode (MNAE) chip, in which the microneedle array and the flexible substrate are integrated together to simultaneously facilitate low-voltage electroporation and accomplish good coverage of the tissue surface. The efficient delivery of both DNA and siRNA was demonstrated on mice.

Betaine homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) as a specific and sensitive blood marker for acute liver injury.

We developed a high-performance ELISA assay and measured serum BHMT levels in healthy individuals and patients with acute liver injury (ALI). The detection range of this ELISA assay was from 1.56 to 100 ng/ml.

Label-free quantitative detection of tumor-derived exosomes through surface plasmon resonance imaging.

Exosomes are endosome-derived membrane vesicles carrying proteins and nucleic acids that are involved in cellular functions such as intercellular communication, protein and RNA secretion, and antigen presentation. Therefore, exosomes serve as potential biomarkers for many diseases including cancer. Because exosomes are difficult to enrich or purify from biofluids, quantification of exosomes is tedious and inaccurate.

Bimodal imprint chips for peptide screening: integration of high-throughput sequencing by MS and affinity analyses by surface plasmon resonance imaging.

Peptide probes and drugs have widespread applications in disease diagnostics and therapy. The demand for peptides ligands with high affinity and high specificity toward various targets has surged in the biomedical field in recent years. The traditional peptide screening procedure involves selection, sequencing, and characterization steps, and each step is manual and tedious.

Quantitative liver-specific protein fingerprint in blood: a signature for hepatotoxicity.

We discuss here a new approach to detecting hepatotoxicity by employing concentration changes of liver-specific blood proteins during disease progression. These proteins are capable of assessing the behaviors of their cognate liver biological networks for toxicity or disease perturbations. Blood biomarkers are highly desirable diagnostics as blood is easily accessible and baths virtually all organs.