Formation of Conductive DNA-Based Nanowires via Conjugation of dsDNA with Cationic Peptide.

A novel conductive DNA-based nanomaterial, DNA-peptide wire, composed of a DNA core and a peripheral peptide layer, is presented. The electrical conductivity of the wire is found to be at least three orders in magnitude higher than that of native double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). High conductivity of the wires along with a better resistance to mechanical deformations caused by interactions between the substrate and electrode surface make them appealing for a wide variety of nanoelectronic and biosensor applications.

Rapid Conformational Analysis of Protein Drugs in Formulation by Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry.

Hydrogen deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has become an established method for analysis of protein higher order structure. Here, we use HDX-MS methodology based on manual solid-phase extraction (SPE) to allow fast and simplified conformational analysis of proteins under pharmaceutically relevant formulation conditions. Of significant practical utility, the methodology allows global HDX-MS analyses to be performed without refrigeration or external cooling of the setup.

Conformational Analysis of Proteins in Highly Concentrated Solutions by Dialysis-Coupled Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry.

When highly concentrated, an antibody solution can exhibit unusual behaviors, which can lead to unwanted properties, such as increased levels of protein aggregation and unusually high viscosity. Molecular modeling, along with many indirect biophysical measurements, has suggested that the cause for these phenomena can be due to short range electrostatic and/or hydrophobic protein-protein interactions. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a useful tool for investigating protein conformation, dynamics, and interactions.

Biologically active sesquiterpene coumarins from Ferula species.

Extracts from different species of the genus Ferula (Apiaceae) have had various biomedical applications for many centuries. Many biological features of this genus such as cytotoxicity, antibacterial, antiviral, P-glycoprotein (P-gp) inhibitory and antiinflammatory activity have been attributed to sesquiterpene coumarins; structures containing a common coumarin group and a sesquiterpene moiety. This both highlights the importance of sesquiterpene coumarins as biologically active natural products and necessitates further studies on these compounds.

Cytotoxic Activities of Silver Nanoparticles and Silver Ions in Parent and Tamoxifen-Resistant T47D Human Breast Cancer Cells and Their Combination Effects with Tamoxifen against Resistant Cells.

Studies on biomedical applications of nanoparticles are growing with a rapid pace. In medicine, nanoparticles may be the solution for multi-drug-resistance which is still a major drawback in chemotherapy of cancer. In the present study, we investigated the potential cytotoxic effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and silver ions (Ag(+)) in both parent and tamoxifen-resistant T47D cells in presence and absence of tamoxifen.

ZnO nanoparticles enhanced antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Nanoparticle metal oxides offer a wide variety of potential applications in medicine due to the unprecedented advances in nanobiotechnology research. In this work, the effect of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles prepared by mechano-chemical method on the antibacterial activity of different antibiotics was evaluated using disk diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The average size of ZnO nanoparticles was between 20 nm and 45 nm.