Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Nada Lebbos, Catherine Keller, Laurence Dujourdy, Michel Afram, Pierre Curmi, Talal Darwish, Claude Daou, Elias Bou-Maroun
Summary: Agricultural soils in the Mediterranean region are heavily polluted with toxic trace elements (TEs), posing a risk to the food chain. Monitoring TE concentrations in these soils is crucial for food safety. The most powerful monitoring method, using dangerous chemicals and expensive instruments, is not affordable in developing countries. This study proposes an alternative method using microwave sulphuric digestion and atomic absorption spectroscopy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
G. Carrone, E. Morzan, R. Candal, M. Tudino
Summary: This work demonstrates a proof of concept for optimizing the analytical performance in TS-FFAAS by using different sample injection systems. Various operational variables, including the characteristics of ceramic capillaries, were studied to evaluate the influence on analytical signal. The application of multi-injection showed improved figures of merit and reduced sample amount for determination.
MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ghanim Al-Thani, Adel Ehab Ibrahim, Mohammed Alomairi, Baher I. Salman, Mostafa M. Hegazy, Ahmed Al-Harrasi, Sami El Deeb
Summary: The use of weight loss herbal preparations is increasing due to the consumption of high-calorie junk food. However, the regulations governing the quality control of these products may be minimal. This study investigated the elemental contents in these products and found that some macro-elements were present at safe levels, while some micro-elements and other elements showed concerning levels. Stricter surveillance of herbal products is necessary.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Semiha Kopru, Mehmet Cadir, Mustafa Soylak
Summary: Veganism, a diet that excludes animal foods, is gaining popularity worldwide. However, long-term adherence to a vegan diet may lead to nutrient and mineral deficiencies, impacting health. A study analyzed the trace element content in various vegan foods purchased from Turkey and found that the levels were below legal limits. These findings highlight the importance of considering nutrient intake in vegan nutrition.
BIOLOGICAL TRACE ELEMENT RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Food Science & Technology
Leina El Hosry, Nicolas Sok, Rosalie Richa, Layal Al Mashtoub, Philippe Cayot, Elias Bou-Maroun
Summary: Every human being needs around 20 essential elements to maintain proper physiological processes. Some trace elements are essential for the human body, while others have undetermined biological functions and are considered contaminants. Pollution with trace elements can affect biological functions and cause illnesses. This review provides an overview of commonly used methods and techniques in trace element analysis of food.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Farida Ait Lhaj, Hecham Elhamri, Zakaria Ait Lhaj, Abdelkader Zarrouk, Abdellah El Abidi, Souad El Hajjaji, Abdelkebir Bellaouchou
Summary: The study examined the quality of breast milk in Kenitra city by assessing essential elements and heavy metals levels, revealing significant correlations and influence from sociodemographic parameters. Some samples exceeded recommended limits for cadmium and lead, indicating low contamination levels, with certain elements surpassing international standards without reported adverse effects on newborns.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bikash Chandra Maharaj, Maria Rosaria Mattei, Luigi Frunzo, Eric D. van Hullebusch, Giovanni Esposito
Summary: This study proposes a method to assess the bioavailability of trace elements in anaerobic digestion systems using a mathematical model, and predicts the impact of different factors on TE speciation through numerical simulations. Experimental data comparison confirms the applicability of this modeling framework to various anaerobic digestion operations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hamed Baniamerian, Parisa Ghofrani-Isfahani, Panagiotis Tsapekos, Merlin Alvarado-Morales, Mohammad Shahrokhi, Irini Angelidaki
Summary: The study found that metals such as nickel and iron are crucial for the anaerobic digestion process, and utilizing nickel and iron coated on TiO2 nanoparticles can enhance hydrolysis rate and methane production of substrates.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tamene Beshaw, Kindnew Demssie, Israel Leka
Summary: This study found that the levels of trace metals in honey samples from Southern Ethiopia were lower than the permissible limits set by WHO/FAO. The estimated intake of these trace metals through honey consumption was also within the acceptable range. Therefore, there is no serious health risk associated with the consumption of this honey.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Anna Pekou, Natalia Manousi, George A. Zachariadis
Summary: In this study, a simple and rapid method was developed for the determination of metals and trace elements in maternal breast milk. The method used inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to analyze samples collected from lactating mothers at different stages of breastfeeding. The method showed good repeatability, linearity, and accuracy.
ANALYTICAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Yufang Wei, Zipei Li, Wenjuan Ran, Hairong Yuan, Xiujin Li
Summary: This study found that by combining KOH or LFD modifications with trace element supplementation, the biomethane yield of anaerobic co-digestion can be significantly increased. Changes in microbial community at the genus level can affect the main digestion pathways, ultimately influencing co-digestion performance.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Zhi Wang, Shilei Wang, Wei Zhuang, Jinle Liu, Xingyao Meng, Xiaoling Zhao, Zehui Zheng, Shanshuai Chen, Hanjie Ying, Yafan Cai
Summary: Excessive or insufficient supplementation of trace elements (TEs) affects the progress of anaerobic digestion due to insufficient understanding of digestion substrate characteristics, which influence TEs demand. This review focuses on the relationship between TEs requirements and substrate characteristics, specifically discussing the basis for TE optimization and existing problems, TE deficiency mechanisms for different types of substrates, and regulation of TE bioavailability by substrate characteristics.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Muhammad Moaaz Ali, Binqi Li, Cao Zhi, Ahmed Fathy Yousef, Faxing Chen
Summary: This study used ICP-MS to analyze the impact of molybdenum (Mo) on the levels of macronutrients, micronutrients, and toxic elements in loquat leaves and fruit tissues. The application of Mo led to significant changes in mineral concentrations, with increases observed in some elements while decreases were seen in others. Overall, the addition of Mo greatly influenced the mineral content in loquat, showing both positive and negative effects on different elements.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sukirtha Srivarathan, Rama Addepalli, Oladipupo Qudus Adiamo, Gethmini Kavindya Kodagoda, Anh Dao Thi Phan, Olivia Renee Louise Wright, Yasmina Sultanbawa, Simone Osborne, Michael Erich Netzel
Summary: This study investigated the in vitro protein digestibility, bioaccessibility, and intestinal absorption of minerals and trace elements in saltbush and samphire, two important Australian indigenous halophytes. The study found that samphire had higher in vitro digestibility of protein compared to saltbush, despite having a lower total protein content. Additionally, freeze-dried halophyte powder showed higher in vitro bioaccessibility of Mg, Fe, and Zn compared to the halophyte test food. The study also revealed differences in intestinal absorption rates of iron between samphire and saltbush.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Kaijun Wang, Sining Yun, Tian Xing, Bingjie Li, Yasir Abbas, Xinming Liu
Summary: The study found that binary and ternary trace elements can significantly improve the rate and yield potential of biogas production from anaerobic digestion of cattle manure. Predictive models showed that the addition of trace elements reduced the activation energy and increased fertility of digestates.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jing Bao, Xiaopei Qiu, Deqiang Wang, Huisi Yang, Jiaying Zhao, Yanli Qi, Liangliang Zhang, Xiaohui Chen, Mei Yang, Wei Gu, Danqun Huo, Yang Luo, Changjun Hou
Summary: This study presents a 3D carbon nanomaze (CAM) electrode for ultrahigh sensitivity detection of trace biomolecules, achieving a high level of sensitivity and reproducibility. Through self-assembled DNA tetrahedron array and optimized parameters, successful detection of microRNA-155 was demonstrated, showing the potential of this novel CAM platform in clinical sample detection.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jianxiong Xu, Jinxuan Wang, Juhui Qiu, Hua Liu, Yi Wang, Yuliang Cui, Rose Humphry, Nan Wang, Colm DurKan, Yaokai Chen, Yanqiu Lu, Qinfeng Ma, Wei Wu, Yang Luo, Lehui Xiao, Guixue Wang
Summary: The large-scale utilization of nanotechnology relies heavily on public and consumer trust in its safety. Research on nanoparticle interaction with immune cells is crucial for safety assessment in nanomedicine. Studies have shown that immune cells can experience reduced sensitivity and delayed response after phagocytizing gold nanoparticles, leading to nanoparticle-induced bluntness in immune cells (NIBIC).
Article
Biophysics
Ke Yang, Jining Li, Marc Lamy de la Chapelle, Guorong Huang, Yunxia Wang, Jinbao Zhang, Degang Xu, Jianquan Yao, Xiang Yang, Weiling Fu
Summary: A novel THz biosensor based on metamaterials coupled with nanoparticles and strand displacement amplification (SDA) was developed for sensitive detection of microRNA (miRNA) samples. The biosensor showed good detection sensitivity with a limit of detection of 14.54 aM and exhibited a linear response for miRNA-21, offering potential applications in nucleic acid analysis and cancer diagnosis.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hong Zhang, Ruining Liu, Qingmei Li, Xiaolin Hu, Lixiang Wu, Ye Zhou, Guangchao Qing, Rui Yuan, Junjie Huang, Wei Gu, Yanyao Ye, Chao Qi, Mei Han, Xiaohui Chen, Xun Zhu, Yun Deng, Liangliang Zhang, Hengyi Chen, Haoran Zhang, Weiyin Gao, Yao Liu, Yang Luo
Summary: Accurate and rapid blood typing is crucial in various medical and forensic situations, and a new FLIPPED platform utilizing color changes and QR codes was demonstrated to achieve automatic blood group identification. A color correction model and algorithm were also designed to remove errors from scanning angles and ambient light intensities, improving accuracy in identifying weak agglutination. This approach showed comparable accuracy and repeatability to traditional methods, making it a versatile platform for clinical diagnostics, food safety, and environmental monitoring.
Article
Biophysics
Jie Fang, Changjing Yuan, Junjie Li, Junlong Li, Tingyan Yang, Yongcan Guo, Ding Wang, Jianjiang Xue, WeiLing Fu, Guoming Xie
Summary: A novel lame DNA walker that can autonomously move on microsphere-based 3-D tracks is proposed in this study. The walker's motion is driven by cleavage of DNA tracks using a nicking endonuclease, and it enables reaction equilibrium within 30 minutes.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Rui Yuan, Wanyan Tang, Hong Zhang, Wenxin You, Xiaolin Hu, Haiwei Zhang, Ling Chen, Weiqi Nian, Shijia Ding, Yang Luo
Summary: The PASTA strategy for detecting circulating EGFR exon mutations achieved high accuracy and sensitivity, and can be applied to molecular subtyping in clinical lung cancer patients.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Liu Wang, Kang Wang, Xiaohui Wang, Ruyan Niu, Xiaohui Chen, Ying Zhu, Zixin Sun, Jichun Yang, Guoxiang Liu, Yang Luo
Summary: In this study, tumor-specific fluorescence imaging was achieved by using intelligent dual-lock DNA automatons, which recognized specific molecular targets on tumor cells. The feasibility and specificity of this approach were validated in vivo with tumor-bearing mice. This work highlights the potential of the proposed IDEA strategy for tumor-specific imaging, paving the way for successful precision diagnosis and treatment.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Heng Li, Qi-Zhao Huang, Hong Zhang, Zhen-Xing Liu, Xiao-Hui Chen, Li-Lin Ye, Yang Luo
Summary: Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus, and it has become a major public health threat. The immune response to the virus plays a crucial role in disease pathogenesis and clinical manifestations, leading to skin lesions, sepsis, respiratory disease, and damage to immune organs. The immunopathogenesis of monkeypox involves impaired NK-cell function, immune evasion, cytokine storm, and antibody-dependent enhancement, among other factors. Understanding the immunopathology of monkeypox is important for developing immunotherapeutic strategies against the disease.
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Xiaohui Wang, Hong Zhang, Xiaohui Chen, Chunrong Wu, Ke Ding, Guiyin Sun, Yang Luo, Debing Xiang
Summary: Various types of nanoparticles are utilized to achieve targeted delivery of anticancer drugs, improve efficacy, and reduce side effects. However, their therapeutic effects are not ideal due to tumor microenvironment abnormalities and nanoparticle properties. This review comprehensively discusses the factors hindering nanoparticle penetration into tumors and describes methods for improving nanoparticle distribution. Furthermore, it critically analyzes the future development of nanodrug delivery in oncology.
ACTA BIOMATERIALIA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Zixin Sun, Xiaohui Chen, Ruyan Niu, Hengyi Chen, Ying Zhu, Chong Zhang, Liu Wang, Huaming Mou, Hong Zhang, Yang Luo
Summary: This study developed a Liposome Fusogenic Enzyme-free circuit (LIFE) approach that enables accurate identification of single exosomal inclusions without destroying the vesicle integrity. The probe-loaded cationic fusogenic liposome can capture and fuse with a target exosome, allowing for probes delivery and target biomolecule-initiated cascaded signal amplification. By controlling the ratio of the introduced LIFE probe, trace cargoes in a single exosome can be accurately determined, paving the way for a universal sensing platform to assess exosomal cargoes for early disease diagnosis and personalized treatment.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Ruyan Niu, Xiaohui Chen, Zixin Sun, Liu Wang, Zining Wang, Chong Zhang, Dan Ding, Jichun Yang, Yongzhong Wang, Yang Luo
Summary: Cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles (csEVs) are important indicators for the presence and progression of malignancies, but discriminating csEVs from normal sEVs and detecting them at low abundance in early-stage cancer is challenging. In this study, the researchers developed a TESTER strategy based on MNAzyme-controlled recognition to selectively identify csEVs from complex clinical samples. The TESTER approach achieved highly sensitive and selective quantification of csEVs with a detection threshold of 72 particles/μL, and the researchers also constructed a new platform for bimolecular simultaneous recognition, providing insights for future development of bimolecular-activated detection switches.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Hengyi Chen, Xiaohui Chen, Yi Chen, Chong Zhang, Zixin Sun, Jiaxi Mo, Yongzhong Wang, Jichun Yang, Dongsheng Zou, Yang Luo
Summary: In this study, a bioorthogonal approach towards high-fidelity imaging of intracellular miRNA was proposed. A multifunctional nanoprobe was designed to integrate MnO2 nanosheet-mediated delivery and activation by FTO-switched positive feedback. This strategy realized high-fidelity imaging of intracellular aberrant miRNA within tumor cells with a satisfactory detection limit, paving the way to facilitate clinical tumor diagnosis and prognosis monitoring.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rui Yuan, Xiaopeng Bai, Xiaolin Hu, Hong Zhang, Changjun Hou, Quanxin Long, Yang Luo
Summary: This paper introduces a CATCH approach using CRISPR-Cas13a, which combines gene recognition with catalytic hairpin assembly amplification to accurately and impartially identify variants. In a pilot experiment involving 34 clinical samples, this approach achieved 100% accuracy.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Liangliang Zhang, Xianxian Zhao, Xiaolin Hu, Yi Zhang, Ruining Liu, Hai Peng, Youhao Chen, Hong Zhang, Yang Luo
Summary: Aberrant DNA methylation is a crucial factor in tumor development and metastasis, and is considered as a valuable non-invasive biomarker for cancer. However, accurately quantifying DNA methylation from clinical samples remains challenging. In this study, a user-friendly Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas system Assisted Methylation (CAM) approach is proposed for sensitive detection of DNA methylation by combining rolling circle amplification and CRISPR-Cas12a-assisted cascade amplification.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yingshu Guo, Di Wu, Xu Zhang, Kaixiang Zhang, Yang Luo
Summary: Biomolecules from extracellular vesicles play a crucial role in tissue repair, mainly including proteins, RNAs, and cell growth factors. These biomolecules achieve tissue repair through various therapeutic and repair mechanisms. The future potential of biomolecules in EVs as ideal agents for tissue repair is promising.
