In vivo doped biosilica from living Thalassiosira weissflogii diatoms with a triethoxysilyl functionalized red emitting fluorophore

MRS Advances ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (27) ◽  
pp. 1509-1517 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lo Presti ◽  
R. Ragni ◽  
D. Vona ◽  
G. Leone ◽  
S. Cicco ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDiatoms microalgae represent a natural source of highly porous biosilica shells (frustules) with promising applications in a wide range of technological fields. Functionalization of diatoms’ frustules with tailored luminescent molecules can be envisaged as a convenient, scalable biotechnological route to new light emitting silica nanostructured materials. Here we report a straightforward protocol for the in vivo modification of Thalassiosira weissflogii diatoms’ frustules with a red emitting organic dye based on thienyl, benzothiadiazolyl and phenyl units. The metabolic insertion of the dye molecules into the diatoms shells, combined with an acidic-oxidative isolation protocol of the resulting dye stained biosilica, represents a novel strategy to develop highly porous luminescent biosilica nanostructures with promising applications in photonics.

1992 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. BAKER ◽  
M. W. GRIFFITHS ◽  
D. L. COLLINS-THOMPSON

Many marine microorganisms (Vibrio, Photobacterium) are capable of emitting light, that is, they are bioluminescent. The light-yielding reaction is catalyzed by a luciferase, and it involves the oxidation of reduced riboflavin phosphate and a long-chain aldehyde in the presence of oxygen to produce a blue green light. The genes responsible for the luciferase production, (lux A and lux B), aldehyde synthesis (lux C, D, and E), and regulation of luminescence (lux I and lux R) have all been identified, and recent research has resulted in the discovery of three new genes (lux F, G, and H). The ability to genetically engineer dark microorganisms to become light emitting by introducing the lux genes into them has opened up a wide range of applications of bioluminescence. Assays using bacterial bioluminescence for the detection and enumeration of microorganisms are rapid, sensitive, accurate, and can be made specific. It is these attributes that are making in vivo bioluminescent assays so attractive to the food industry.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (43) ◽  
pp. 21427-21437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Daniel C. Castro ◽  
Yuan Han ◽  
Yixin Wu ◽  
Hexia Guo ◽  
...  

Pharmacology and optogenetics are widely used in neuroscience research to study the central and peripheral nervous systems. While both approaches allow for sophisticated studies of neural circuitry, continued advances are, in part, hampered by technology limitations associated with requirements for physical tethers that connect external equipment to rigid probes inserted into delicate regions of the brain. The results can lead to tissue damage and alterations in behavioral tasks and natural movements, with additional difficulties in use for studies that involve social interactions and/or motions in complex 3-dimensional environments. These disadvantages are particularly pronounced in research that demands combined optogenetic and pharmacological functions in a single experiment. Here, we present a lightweight, wireless, battery-free injectable microsystem that combines soft microfluidic and microscale inorganic light-emitting diode probes for programmable pharmacology and optogenetics, designed to offer the features of drug refillability and adjustable flow rates, together with programmable control over the temporal profiles. The technology has potential for large-scale manufacturing and broad distribution to the neuroscience community, with capabilities in targeting specific neuronal populations in freely moving animals. In addition, the same platform can easily be adapted for a wide range of other types of passive or active electronic functions, including electrical stimulation.


MRS Advances ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (57) ◽  
pp. 3817-3823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Vona ◽  
Marco Lo Presti ◽  
Stefania Roberta Cicco ◽  
Fabio Palumbo ◽  
Roberta Ragni ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe functionalization of biosilica shells (frustules) of diatoms microalgae with a tailored luminescent molecule is a convenient, scalable and biotechnological approach for obtaining new light emitting silica nanostructures with promising applications in photonics. In particular, here we report the synthesis of a red emitting organic fluorophore and its covalent linking to the surface of mesoporous biosilica extracted from Thalassiosira weissflogii diatoms cultured in our laboratories. The organic dye has a conjugated skeleton composed of thienyl, benzothiadiazolyl and phenyl units and a peripheral triethoxysilyl group which enables its stable binding onto the frustules surface. The protocol to extract the biosilica shells from living diatoms preserving their natural ornate nanostructured morphology is also discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (24) ◽  
pp. 3434-3437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Zhou Li ◽  
Jie Su ◽  
Jie Liang ◽  
Jia Liu ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhang ◽  
...  

A highly porous metal–organic framework with large pores presents large molecule based applications probed by organic dye molecules.


1991 ◽  
Vol 30 (01) ◽  
pp. 35-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Durak ◽  
M. Kitapgi ◽  
B. E. Caner ◽  
R. Senekowitsch ◽  
M. T. Ercan

Vitamin K4 was labelled with 99mTc with an efficiency higher than 97%. The compound was stable up to 24 h at room temperature, and its biodistribution in NMRI mice indicated its in vivo stability. Blood radioactivity levels were high over a wide range. 10% of the injected activity remained in blood after 24 h. Excretion was mostly via kidneys. Only the liver and kidneys concentrated appreciable amounts of radioactivity. Testis/soft tissue ratios were 1.4 and 1.57 at 6 and 24 h, respectively. Testis/blood ratios were lower than 1. In vitro studies with mouse blood indicated that 33.9 ±9.6% of the radioactivity was associated with RBCs; it was washed out almost completely with saline. Protein binding was 28.7 ±6.3% as determined by TCA precipitation. Blood clearance of 99mTc-l<4 in normal subjects showed a slow decrease of radioactivity, reaching a plateau after 16 h at 20% of the injected activity. In scintigraphic images in men the testes could be well visualized. The right/left testis ratio was 1.08 ±0.13. Testis/soft tissue and testis/blood activity ratios were highest at 3 h. These ratios were higher than those obtained with pertechnetate at 20 min post injection.99mTc-l<4 appears to be a promising radiopharmaceutical for the scintigraphic visualization of testes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Polla Rouf ◽  
Pitsiri Sukkaew ◽  
Lars Ojamäe ◽  
Henrik Pedersen

<p>Aluminium nitride (AlN) is a semiconductor with a wide range of applications from light emitting diodes to high frequency transistors. Electronic grade AlN is routinely deposited at 1000 °C by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using trimethylaluminium (TMA) and NH<sub>3</sub> while low temperature CVD routes to high quality AlN are scarce and suffer from high levels of carbon impurities in the film. We report on an ALD-like CVD approach with time-resolved precursor supply where thermally induced desorption of methyl groups from the AlN surface is enhanced by the addition of an extra pulse, H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub> or Ar between the TMA and NH<sub>3</sub> pulses. The enhanced desorption allowed deposition of AlN films with carbon content of 1 at. % at 480 °C. Kinetic- and quantum chemical modelling suggest that the extra pulse between TMA and NH<sub>3</sub> prevents re-adsorption of desorbing methyl groups terminating the AlN surface after the TMA pulse. </p>


Author(s):  
Roohi Mohi-ud-din ◽  
Reyaz Hassan Mir ◽  
Prince Ahad Mir ◽  
Saeema Farooq ◽  
Syed Naiem Raza ◽  
...  

Background: Genus Berberis (family Berberidaceae), which contains about 650 species and 17 genera worldwide, has been used in folklore and various traditional medicine systems. Berberis Linn. is the most established group among genera with around 450-500 species across the world. This comprehensive review will not only help researchers for further evaluation but also provide substantial information for future exploitation of species to develop novel herbal formulations. Objective: The present review is focussed to summarize and collect the updated review of information of Genus Berberis species reported to date regarding their ethnomedicinal information, chemical constituents, traditional/folklore use, and reported pharmacological activities on more than 40 species of Berberis. Conclusion: A comprehensive survey of the literature reveals that various species of the genus possess various phytoconstituents mainly alkaloids, flavonoid based compounds isolated from different parts of a plant with a wide range of pharmacological activities. So far, many pharmacological activities like anti-cancer, anti-hyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory both in vitro & in vivo and clinical study of different extracts/isolated compounds of different species of Berberis have been reported, proving their importance as a medicinal plant and claiming their traditional use.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1243
Author(s):  
Hina Qamar ◽  
Sumbul Rehman ◽  
D.K. Chauhan

Cancer is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chemotherapy and radiotherapy enhance the survival rate of cancerous patients but they have several acute toxic effects. Therefore, there is a need to search for new anticancer agents having better efficacy and lesser side effects. In this regard, herbal treatment is found to be a safe method for treating and preventing cancer. Here, an attempt has been made to screen some less explored medicinal plants like Ammania baccifera, Asclepias curassavica, Azadarichta indica, Butea monosperma, Croton tiglium, Hedera nepalensis, Jatropha curcas, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Psidium guajava, etc. having potent anticancer activity with minimum cytotoxic value (IC50 >3μM) and lesser or negligible toxicity. They are rich in active phytochemicals with a wide range of drug targets. In this study, these medicinal plants were evaluated for dose-dependent cytotoxicological studies via in vitro MTT assay and in vivo tumor models along with some more plants which are reported to have IC50 value in the range of 0.019-0.528 mg/ml. The findings indicate that these plants inhibit tumor growth by their antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic molecular targets. They are widely used because of their easy availability, affordable price and having no or sometimes minimal side effects. This review provides a baseline for the discovery of anticancer drugs from medicinal plants having minimum cytotoxic value with minimal side effects and establishment of their analogues for the welfare of mankind.


Author(s):  
Shangfei Wei ◽  
Tianming Zhao ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Xin Zhai

: Allostery is an efficient and particular regulatory mechanism to regulate protein functions. Different from conserved orthosteric sites, allosteric sites have distinctive functional mechanism to form the complex regulatory network. In drug discovery, kinase inhibitors targeting the allosteric pockets have received extensive attention for the advantages of high selectivity and low toxicity. The approval of trametinib as the first allosteric inhibitor validated that allosteric inhibitors could be used as effective therapeutic drugs for treatment of diseases. To date, a wide range of allosteric inhibitors have been identified. In this perspective, we outline different binding modes and potential advantages of allosteric inhibitors. In the meantime, the research processes of typical and novel allosteric inhibitors are described briefly in terms of structureactivity relationships, ligand-protein interactions and in vitro and in vivo activity. Additionally, challenges as well as opportunities are presented.


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