Topic Review
Cannabinoids in Biological Specimens
Cannabinoids are still the most consumed drugs of abuse worldwide. Despite being considered less harmful to human health, particularly if compared with opiates or cocaine, cannabis consumption has important medico-legal and public health consequences.
  • 212
  • 09 May 2023
Topic Review
Causes of Hypermagnesemia
Hypermagnesemia is a relatively uncommon but potentially life-threatening electrolyte disturbance characterized by elevated magnesium concentrations in the blood. Magnesium is a crucial mineral involved in various physiological functions, such as neuromuscular conduction, cardiac excitability, vasomotor tone, insulin metabolism, and muscular contraction. Prompt identification and management of hypermagnesemia are crucial to prevent complications, such as respiratory and cardiovascular negative outcomes, neuromuscular dysfunction, and coma. Preventing hypermagnesemia is crucial, particularly in high-risk populations, such as patients with impaired renal function or those receiving magnesium-containing medications or supplements. 
  • 244
  • 29 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Circulating Tumor Cells in Point-of-Care Settings
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cells that have been shed from tumors and circulate in the bloodstream. These cells can also be responsible for further metastases and the spread of cancer. Taking a closer look and analyzing CTCs through what has come to be known as “liquid biopsy” has immense potential to further researchers’ understanding of cancer biology.
  • 268
  • 17 May 2023
Topic Review
Circulating Tumor DNA—A Novel Biomarker of Tumor Progression
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world and seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The diagnostic techniques for tumors mainly include tumor biomarker detection, instrumental examination, and tissue biopsy. Liquid technology represented by circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has gradually replaced traditional technology with its advantages of being non-invasive and accurate, its high specificity, and its high sensitivity. ctDNA is a small DNA fragment derived from tumor cells, which contains tumor-related genomic information, such as mutation, methylation, microsatellite instability, etc. It is an ideal biomarker for real-time monitoring of tumor development. 
  • 240
  • 09 Jan 2023
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.
  • 860
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
CRISPR-Powered Microfluidics Applications
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technology is a simple yet powerful tool for highly specific and rapid modification of DNA in a genome, which is the complete set of genetic instructions in an organism. One of the requirements for successful modification of the eukaryotic genome using the CRISPR/Cas9 system is the presence of the guide RNA (sgRNA or crRNA/duplex crRNA/tracrRNA) Cas9 protein complex and the introduction of mRNA or DNA. In therapeutic approaches, the genome of specific cells can be re-transplanted into the patient in vitro and then the host genome modified to treat any possible deficiency in genes. Nowadays, the use of microfluidic channels and chips is one of the best approaches to deliver materials and cells as it prevents many problems by accurately editing the cell and creating an opportunity for successful editing and screening of their genome. Such chips provide a suitable substrate for cell manipulation, drug screening, and exosome characterization. Furthermore, they are useful for pathogen and cancer detection because of their high throughput, low cost, flexibility, and controlled fluid or gas flow.
  • 578
  • 10 Jan 2022
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.
  • 835
  • 10 May 2022
Topic Review
Diagnostics of HNSCC Patients
Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are very frequent worldwide, and smoking and chronic alcohol use are recognized as the main risk factors. For oropharyngeal cancers, HPV 16 infection is known to be a risk factor as well. By employing next-generation sequencing, both HPV-positive and negative HNSCC patients were detected as positive for PI3K mutation, which was considered an optimal molecular target. The treatment of HNSCC includes surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy alone or combined. In some cases, resistance to therapy with recurrences and metastasis and/or side effects appear. This underlines the need for a new direction of research for targeted cancer therapy.
  • 325
  • 17 May 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Displacement Micropump with Check Valves for Diabetes Care—The Challenge of Pumping Insulin at Negative Pressure
The displacement micropump with passive check valves is an attractive solution for precise insulin infusion in patients with type I diabetes. Unlike most insulin pumps that push insulin from a cartridge using a piston, a displacement micropump will first pull insulin from the reservoir before infusing it into the patient. This dual sequence introduces new challenges in terms of insulin stability, notably if the reservoir is not pressurized. After an introduction to displacement micropumps and a brief review of the insulin degradation mechanism, micropump design rules are discussed in light of microfluidic theory.
  • 354
  • 14 May 2024
Topic Review
Genotoxic Effects of Lead
Lead (Pb) is one of the most widely used heavy metals in several industries for the manufacturing process of Pb-based products due to its physical and chemical properties, such as high density, softness, malleability, and poor conductibility. Thus, Pb can be found in workplaces and other contaminated environments. Pb toxicity can occur via both nonoccupational and occupational exposure through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption.
  • 406
  • 29 Apr 2022
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