Real time optical detection of gold in living cells through genetically-encoded probe.

To study the efflux of gold (Au) in living cells, a genetically encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based sensor has been developed. The gold-sensing domain GolB from has been fused to the N- and C-termini of the FRET pair enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP) and Venus respectively. In living cells, this probe is highly selective and sensitive to gold and it can withstand changes in variable pH ranges.

A perspective on the isolation and characterization of extracellular vesicles from different biofluids.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small membrane-bound particles, which include exosomes, micro vesicles (MVs) and various-sized vesicles, released by healthy and diseased cells. EVs also include other vesicular structures, such as large apoptotic bodies (1-5 μm), as well as membrane particles (50-80 nm) originating from the plasma membrane. However, exosomes are nanosize (≈30-100 nm) extracellular vesicles of endocytic origin that are bud-off by most types of cells and circulate in bodily fluids.