Absorption and distribution of root, fruit, and foliar-applied Ca in 'Clemenules' mandarin trees.

Background: The mechanisms of calcium (Ca) absorption and transport in plants are still poorly understood. This study focused on assessing the absorption and distribution of Ca in different plant organs after root (soil), foliar, or fruit application to 6-year-old 'Clemenules' mandarin trees, grown in pots, using Ca as a tracer.

Results: The rate of Ca absorption and transportation in plant tissues varied according to the treatment method.

Gold nanoparticles as tracking devices to shed light on the role of caveolin-1 in early stages of melanoma metastasis.

Aim: To track early events during lung metastasis, we labeled cells expressing (B16F10) or lacking CAV1 (B16F10) with gold nanoparticles conjugated to the peptide TAT (AuNPs-PEG-TAT).

Methods: B16F10 expressing or lacking CAV1 were labeled with AuNPs-PEG-TAT. The physicochemical properties and cytotoxicity of these nanoparticles, as well as their effects on migration and invasiveness of B16F10 cells in vitro were evaluated.

Peptide multifunctionalized gold nanorods decrease toxicity of β-amyloid peptide in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Alzheimer's disease.

The properties of nanometric materials make nanotechnology a promising platform for tackling problems of contemporary medicine. In this work, gold nanorods were synthetized and stabilized with polyethylene glycols and modified with two kinds of peptides. The D1 peptide that recognizes toxic aggregates of Aβ, a peptide involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD); and the Angiopep 2 that can be used to deliver nanorods to the mammalian central nervous system.