Topic Review
Titin and Muscle Atrophy
Titin, also called connectin, is a giant sarcomere protein, which functions as a spring for muscle extension and elasticity. Titin interconnects the contraction of actin-containing thin filaments and myosin-containing thick filaments. Recently, the N-terminal fragment of titin, which is the breakdown product of titin, has become measurable using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (27900 titin N-fragment Assay Kit; Immuno-Biological Laboratories, Fujioka, Japan). This kit has been used to evaluate muscle breakdown in muscle dystrophy, in which the level of urinary titin N-fragment was 700-times above the normal level.
  • 2.4K
  • 20 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Synthesis of Carbon Dots
There are many studies on the different synthesis methods of carbon dots. Each process aims to improve the synthesis strategy and optimize the reaction conditions so that the carbon dots are not only more cost-effective and eco-friendly, but also provide more excellent performance.
  • 1.9K
  • 08 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Optical Biomedical Sensors
The optical biomedical sensor industry has grown enormously over the past few years and is expected to grow more in the forthcoming days because of the extensive need for point-of-care testing devices. Researchers all over the world are working on the implementation of highly sensitive, reliable, portable, and inexpensive biomedical appliances, which can revolutionize this market. Optical biosensing is a vast topic, and numerous optical sensing techniques have been presented over the years.These techniques and corresponding technological platforms enabling the manufacturing of optical biomedical sensors of different types.the most representative cases are integrated optical biosensors, vertical grating couplers, plasmonic sensors, surface plasmon resonance optical fiber biosensors, and metasurface biosensors, Photonic crystal-based biosensors, thin metal films biosensors, and fiber Bragg grating biosensors,these optical biomedical sensors might enable the identification of symptoms of deadly illnesses in their early stages; thus, potentially saving a patient’s life. 
  • 1.8K
  • 05 May 2021
Topic Review
HIF-1α in IVD Treatment
The intervertebral disc (IVD) is a complex joint structure comprising three primary components—namely, nucleus pulposus (NP), annulus fibrosus (AF), and cartilaginous endplate (CEP). The IVD retrieves oxygen from the surrounding vertebral body through CEP by diffusion and likely generates ATP via anaerobic glycolysis. IVD degeneration is characterized by a cascade of cellular, compositional, structural changes. With advanced age, pronounced changes occur in the composition of the disc extracellular matrix (ECM). NP and AF cells in the IVD possess poor regenerative capacity compared with that of other tissues. Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is a master transcription factor that initiates a coordinated cellular cascade in response to a low oxygen tension environment, including the regulation of numerous enzymes in response to hypoxia. HIF-1α is essential for NP development and homeostasis and is involved in various processes of IVD degeneration process, promotes ECM in NP, maintains the metabolic activities of NP, and regulates dystrophic mineralization of NP, as well as angiogenesis, autophagy, and apoptosis during IVD degeneration. HIF-1α may, therefore, represent a diagnostic tool for early IVD degeneration and a therapeutic target for inhibiting IVD degeneration
  • 1.2K
  • 06 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Non-Invasive Sweat Diagnostics Wearable Biosensors
Wearable bioelectronics has received tremendous attention worldwide due to its great a potential for predictive medical modeling and allowing for personalized point-of-care-testing (POCT). Since the distribution of sweat glands in the human body is rich (>100 glands/cm2) and the sweat contains abundant biochemical compounds, human sweat has become a promising bio-fluid for non-invasive biosensing. Since nearly every portion of human skin has eccrine glands, sweat is readily available without the use of needles or other invasive devices. Iontophoresis sweat can be extracted from anywhere which is not possible in any other case of bio-fluids. Moreover, analytes including ions, metabolites, acids, hormones, and small proteins and peptides are partitioned into the sweat. Sweat also contains various electrolytes (such as potassium, sodium, chloride, and calcium), nitrogen-containing compounds (such as urea and amino acids), as well as metabolites such as glucose, lactic acid, and uric acid, along with xenobiotics such as drugs and ethanol.
  • 1.1K
  • 02 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Hyperpolarized Carbon-13 MRI
MR spectroscopy (MRS) and spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) obtain metabolic information noninvasively from nuclei spins. For in vivo applications, common MR-active nuclei are protons (1H), phosphorus (31P), carbon (13C), sodium (23Na), and xenon (129Xe). The most common are protons due to their high gyromagnetic ratio and natural abundance in the human body. Since most metabolic processes involve carbon, 13C spectroscopy is a valuable method to measure in vivo metabolism noninvasively [1,2,3]. 13C spectra are characterized by a large spectral range (162–185 ppm), narrow line widths, and low sensitivity due to the low gyromagnetic ratio (a quarter as compared to protons) and natural abundance of 1.1% in vivo. However, the sensitivity can be increased with the use of 13C-enriched agents and by hyperpolarization.Hyperpolarized (HP) 13C MRI is a method that magnetizes 13C probes to dramatically increase signal as compared to conventional MRI [3]. Metabolic and functional HP 13C MRI is a promising diagnostic tool for detecting disorders linked to altered metabolism such as cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases [4], increasing sensitivity sufficiently to map metabolic pathways in vivo without the use of ionizing radiation, as in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Metabolic imaging using HP 13C compounds has been translated successfully into single-organ examinations in healthy controls and various patient populations.
  • 920
  • 22 Apr 2021
Topic Review
X-ray Single-Crystal Diffraction
X-ray single-crystal diffraction (XRSCD) is regarded as the most reliable strategy for absolute configuration determination. Differences in the X-ray anomalous scattering effect of each atom are used to determine the absolute configuration of molecules and can provide the precise spatial position of all of the atoms in a compound in the solid state, including how the atoms are connected, the molecular conformation, and accurate bond length and bond angle data. The strength of the anomalous scattering effect is proportional to the electron cloud density of the atom, which is manifested as the stronger anomalous scattering effect of the atom with a larger atomic number.
  • 856
  • 01 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Injury
Cisplatin is a chemotherapy agent commonly used to treat a wide variety of cancers. Despite the potential for both severe acute and chronic side effects, it remains a preferred therapeutic option for many malignancies due to its potent anti-tumor activity. Common cisplatin-associated side-effects include acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). These renal injuries may cause delays and potentially cessation of cisplatin therapy and have long-term effects on renal function reserve. Thus, developing mechanism-based interventional strategies that minimize cisplatin-associated kidney injury without reducing efficacy would be of great benefit. In addition to its action of cross-linking DNA, cisplatin has been shown to affect mitochondrial metabolism, resulting in mitochondrially derived reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased ROS formation in renal proximal convoluted tubule cells is associated with cisplatin-induced AKI and CKD.
  • 815
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Design of Gold Nanoparticle Vertical Flow Assays
Vertical flow assays (VFAs) or flow-through assays have emerged as an alternate type of paper-based assay due to their faster detection time, larger sample volume capacity, and significantly higher multiplexing capabilities compared to lateral flow assays (LFAs).  VFA can be used for detecting important biomarkers in diagnostic medicine, particularly when VFA is paired with gold nanoparticle conjugation.
  • 809
  • 10 May 2022
Topic Review
Biotechnology for COVID-19 Diagnosis
To date, six human coronaviruses have been identified: α-coronaviruses (HCoVs-NL63, HCoVs-229E), β-coronaviruses (HCoVs-OC43, HCoVs-HKU1), severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV (SARS-CoV), and Middle East respiratory syndrome-CoV (MERS-CoV). After the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic, the world is living a new threat to human health since December 2019—the SARS-CoV-2 or the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergence of the novel coronavirus is associated with an atypical pneumonia that has led to 90,176,569 infections and 1,936,617 deaths worldwide, as of 10 January 2021. Structurally, SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped RNA(Ribonucleic acid) virus comprising a spike protein (S), a hemagglutinin-esterase dimer (HE), a membrane glycoprotein (M), an envelope protein (E), and a nucleocapsid protein (N). It has been demonstrated that the mechanism of the viral infection requires angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding to the protein S with high affinity. Highly expressed in the endothelial cells of the cardiovascular system and kidneys, this human receptor is used by the virus as an entry to invade target cells. Currently, immunoassays are the most popular diagnostic tools available in the market and used in medical structures. Basically, these methods use antibodies as bioreceptors targeting capsid proteins or whole viruses. In serological testing, capsid proteins are used as viral antigens to bind the immunoglobulins generated by the patient against the pathogen. Antibodies are usually obtained from animal immunization with N, S, or E protein or from the blood samples of patients who are infected [14]. In addition to the commercialized ELISA kits and rapid tests, several research reports have described novel immunoassays and immunosensors for coronavirus detection. We discuss in this part the principle of these methods as well as the most important results.
  • 805
  • 21 Apr 2021
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