Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gun-Soo Park, Jin-Soo Maeng
Summary: We developed a method for amplifying kilobases-long target sequence from RNA templates using Cre recombinase to generate circular intermediate template for subsequent amplification. The method can amplify a target sequence of about 2.9 kb, and the amplicon can be used for cloning.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jingyang Zhang, Yu Wang, Xudong Zhao, Mengmeng Chen, Yuan Peng, Jialei Bai, Shuang Li, Dianpeng Han, Shuyue Ren, Kang Qin, Sen Li, Tie Han, Zhixian Gao
Summary: The development of a dual sensitization smartphone colorimetric strategy based on rolling circle amplification (RCA) coils gathering Au tetrahedra has been successful. This strategy utilizes the dual sensitization effect of RCA and Au tetrahedra to amplify the signal. The use of ImageJ software allows for timely target detection under practical conditions.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Chi Yao, Rui Zhang, Jianpu Tang, Dayong Yang
Summary: DNA hydrogels have unique properties and can be synthesized efficiently using rolling circle amplification.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Georgia Diakoudi, Paolo Capozza, Gianvito Lanave, Francesco Pellegrini, Barbara Di Martino, Gabriella Elia, Nicola Decaro, Michele Camero, Paola Ghergo, Fabio Stasi, Alessandra Cavalli, Maria Tempesta, Vanessa R. Barrs, Julia Beatty, Krisztian Banyai, Cristiana Catella, Maria S. Lucente, Alessio Buonavoglia, Giovanna Fusco, Vito Martella
Summary: Hepadnaviruses can be found in dogs, similar to the hepadnavirus in domestic cats. Canine hepadnavirus can cause altered hepatic markers, but its role in canine health remains unclear.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pravin Pokhrel, Sagun Jonchhe, Wei Pan, Hanbin Mao
Summary: Interaction between peptides and nucleic acids plays a crucial role in cellular functions. Recent studies have shown that this interaction is involved in liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) and the formation of membraneless organelles. In this study, the molecular interaction between poly-l-lysine (PLL) peptide and nucleic acids during the early stage of LLPS was investigated at the single-molecule level. The results revealed a multistage LLPS process mediated by long-range interactions between nucleic acids and polyelectrolytes. The propensity to form rigid nucleic acid-PLL complexes was found to reduce condensate formation during LLPS.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Lulu Xu, Jiaxin Duan, Junman Chen, Shijia Ding, Wei Cheng
Summary: RCA is an efficient enzymatic isothermal reaction using circular probes to amplify circular templates rapidly, with high specificity and the ability to generate customized functional nucleic acids for in situ detection.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yuehua Wang, Yingli Han, Fangyu Zhou, Tingting Fan, Feng Liu
Summary: DNA methyltransferases can be used as biomarkers for genetic diseases. A padlock probe was designed to detect the activity of DNA methyltransferases without the need for purification or other probe assistance. This method has high sensitivity and a wide linear range, and can be applied in complex biological environments, as well as for screening drugs or inhibitors for methyltransferases.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Huaixin Zhao, Jigang Lv, Feng Li, Zhili Zhang, Chunzhi Zhang, Zi Gu, Dayong Yang
Summary: The study demonstrated the preparation of DNA-Mn hybrid nanoflower (DMNF) using manganese ions mediated enzymatic biomineralization, with controllable morphology and size. Encoding aptamer sequence into the template achieved tumor-targeted imaging, showing enhanced magnetic resonance imaging effect in an acidic environment.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chengyi Hong, Xiaoxia Zhang, Sishi Ye, Hongfen Yang, Zhiyong Huang, Dan Yang, Ren Cai, Weihong Tan
Summary: The study developed a highly selective and sensitive method for detecting TET, applicable for TET determination in animal-derived foods, with results consistent with commercial ELISA kits.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Tingting Shen, Yu Zhang, Lei Mei, Xiao-Bing Zhang, Guizhi Zhu
Summary: The past decade has witnessed significant progress in nucleic acid therapeutics and diagnostics, particularly in the application of single-stranded circular DNA (circDNA). circDNA possesses unique characteristics, such as the ability to encode and execute genetic and theranostic information, easy programmability for engineering, immunomodulation properties, versatile functionalities, and the ability to recover its conformation easily. circDNA has been used in various theranostic applications, including signal amplification in bioanalysis, synthesis of biomaterials, DNA origami self-assembly, and as theranostic agents in gene editing. This review article discusses the chemistry, properties, and applications of circDNA, as well as the challenges and opportunities in this research field.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Chen-Chen Li, Jinping Hu, Xiliang Luo, Juan Hu, Chun-Yang Zhang
Summary: A quantum dot-mediated fluorescence nanosensor was developed for sensitive detection of SNPs in cancer cells, offering high amplification efficiency, zero background signal, good specificity, and high sensitivity. It can detect a wide range of SNPs and accurately identify mutations as low as 0.001% in mixtures, achieving single-cell level SNP quantification.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Masanobu Nagano, Takumi Toda, Kurumi Makino, Hiroko Miki, Yoshiaki Sugizaki, Hideyuki Tomizawa, Atsunobu Isobayashi, Keitaro Yoshimoto
Summary: Researchers have developed an MTX detection system using chemically synthesizable homogeneous oligonucleotides. Through microbead-assisted capillary electrophoresis, they successfully identified MSmt7 with a similar level of specificity to antiMTX antibodies. This oligonucleotide can be coupled with a peroxidase-like hemin-DNAzyme to construct a bifunctional MTX sensing method with a low detection limit.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jianpu Tang, Aiqi Liang, Chi Yao, Dayong Yang
Summary: The review article by Yang, Yao and colleagues discusses recent advancements in biofunctional DNA hydrogels and DNA nanocomplexes based on rolling circle amplification (RCA), and introduces assembly strategies and functionalization methods of ultralong single-strand DNA produced by RCA.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Ju Liu, Guoyang Xie, Sidi Lv, Qin Xiong, Hengyi Xu
Summary: Isothermal nucleic acid amplification techniques are crucial diagnostic tools for clinical applications and food safety inspections. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is a highly efficient and robust method that meets the convenient amplification requirements for point-of-care testing. This review introduces the principles, species, and optimization strategies of RCA, and summarizes recent achievements in the design, development, and application of RCA biosensors. Additionally, the versatile application of RCA in DNA nanotechnology for bioimaging, drug delivery, and therapeutics is discussed. The current challenges and future perspectives of the RCA technique are also addressed.
TRAC-TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Rongfeng Cai, Shixin Zhang, Luo Chen, Maolin Li, Yuting Zhang, Nandi Zhou
Summary: A dual signal amplification electrochemical biosensor based on a DNA walker and DNA nanoflowers was constructed for high sensitivity detection of Staphylococcus aureus. Through nucleic acid hydrolysis and rolling circle amplification reaction, sensitive detection of S. aureus with a detection limit of 9 CFU/mL was achieved.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eva Mueller, Isabelle Poulin, William James Bodnaryk, Todd Hoare
Summary: The emergence of 3D bioprinting has revolutionized tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, the existing bioinks have limitations in terms of mechanics, degradation rates, and cell viabilities. Click chemistry offers a promising solution to these challenges, but there are few examples of 3D-printed click chemistry hydrogels due to technical difficulties.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaoyun Li, E. Coulter Montague, Angela Pollinzi, Andrew Lofts, Todd Hoare
Summary: This review discusses the design of switchable nanoparticles that can alter their size, surface chemistry, shape, or a combination thereof as a function of time, disease-specific microenvironment, and/or via an externally applied stimulus to optimize nanoparticle properties in each step of the delivery process. The practical use of such nanoparticles in chemotherapy, bioimaging, photothermal therapy, and other applications is also explored.
Editorial Material
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
[Anonymous]
Summary: The cover of this issue features the research team at McMaster University, led by John Brennan and Yingfu Li, who have discovered a universal DNA aptamer that recognizes spike proteins of various SARS-CoV-2 variants.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Ridhdhi Dave, Gurpreet Randhawa, Daeun Kim, Madeline Simpson, Todd Hoare
Summary: This review focuses on the design of microgels for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. Strategies discussed include creating core-shell structures, introducing hydrophobic domains, utilizing host-guest interactions, and applying environmentally responsive materials. The challenge of promoting drug loading without compromising the advantages of microgels as delivery vehicles is also highlighted.
MOLECULAR PHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Virology
Mellissa Gomez, Alexandra Szewczyk, Jake Szamosi, Vincent Leung, Carlos Filipe, Zeinab Hosseinidoust
Summary: Bacterial viruses, known as bacteriophages, are effective antimicrobials that specifically target bacteria. They can be used safely throughout the food production process to control foodborne pathogens. However, their applicability is limited due to their sensitivity towards the environments found in food matrices and processing conditions. This study aimed to address this issue by exposing a commercially available Listeria monocytogenes bacteriophage, P100, to various stress conditions to select for stress-resistant bacteriophages. The stress-selected bacteriophages showed reduced infectivity but retained their stress-resistant phenotype even after multiple passages. The study also highlighted the challenges in translating bacteriophage adaptational evolution to real-life conditions.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Matthew A. Campea, Andrew Lofts, Fei Xu, Mina Yeganeh, Meghan Kostashuk, Todd Hoare
Summary: In this study, a nanogel-based nanoassembly was developed by encapsulating ultra-small starch nanoparticles within disulfide-crosslinked chondroitin sulfate-based nanogels to address the challenge of different sizes needed for drug delivery pathway. The chondroitin sulfate-based nanogel can degrade in the tumor microenvironment to release doxorubicin-loaded starch nanoparticles, thereby improving intratumoral penetration. In vitro experiments demonstrated efficient penetration of CT26 colon carcinoma spheroids by the nanoassembly, resulting in significantly higher DOX-derived fluorescence compared to free DOX. In vivo experiments showed that doxorubicin-loaded nanoassemblies reduced tumor sizes by 6 times compared to saline controls and 2 times compared to free DOX after 21 days.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shadman Khan, Jonathan K. Monteiro, Akansha Prasad, Carlos D. M. Filipe, Yingfu Li, Tohid F. Didar
Summary: This paper comprehensively reviews material breakthroughs in in situ and on-site food monitoring. Base material substrates are discussed, both with regards to their intrinsic material properties and their contributions within recently reported sensing platforms. Biogenic amine, pH, and pathogen monitoring are all examined. Finally, a situational assessment and anticipated future directions are outlined.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Zohreh Jomeh Farsangi, Maggie Zhu, Xuedong Song, Kaiyuan Yang, Todd Hoare
Summary: This study investigates the use of sulfate comonomers with different polymerizable functional groups to enhance the superabsorbency of acrylic acid-based hydrogels. The results show that hydrogels with shorter acrylic acid blocks and sulfated monomers exhibit higher swelling performance. Additionally, limited length blocks of the sulfated monomer further enhance the swelling capacity. This research provides the potential for improved design of superabsorbent hydrogels with higher sorbency.
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Fei Xu, Chloe Dawson, Todd Hoare
Summary: A reactive cell electrospinning approach is introduced to create nanofibrous hydrogel scaffolds with controllable local cell gradients. This method utilizes hydrazide and aldehyde-functionalized polymers and a sequential all-aqueous process, without the need for additives or external energy. The cells can be encapsulated directly during the fabrication process, allowing for localized segregation of different cell types within the structure while maintaining their proliferative capacity. This approach shows promise in generating coculture fibrous hydrogel networks with controlled nanoscale architecture and cell distribution, essential for recreating complex tissues.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Scott Campbell, Nahieli Preciado Rivera, Somiraa Said, Angus Lam, Lauren Weir, Jared Gour, Niels M. B. Smeets, Todd Hoare
Summary: Remote-controlled pulsatile or staged release has significant potential in therapeutic treatments. This study presents a method for achieving high-resolution drug release without surgical implantation, by combining injectable hydrogels, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), and polymeric nanoparticles with a glass transition temperature (T-g) just above physiological temperature. The results demonstrate promising applications for minimally invasive and remotely actuated release delivery vehicles with complex release kinetics.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Akansha Prasad, Shadman Khan, Jonathan K. Monteiro, Jiuxing Li, Fatima Arshad, Liane Ladouceur, Lei Tian, Amid Shakeri, Carlos D. M. Filipe, Yingfu Li, Tohid F. Didar
Summary: Lab-in-a-Package is a novel food packaging platform that allows sampling, concentration, and detection of pathogenic bacteria within closed food packaging without opening it. The platform utilizes an inclined food packaging tray and a reagent-infused membrane to maximize fluid localization and serve as a reagent-immobilizing matrix and an antifouling barrier for the sensor. It is validated using a newly discovered Salmonella-responsive nucleic acid probe, enabling hands-free detection of target pathogens at a level of 10(3) colony forming units (CFU) g(-1) in packaged chicken. Real-world in situ detection is simulated using a handheld fluorescence scanner with smartphone connectivity.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Samaneh Toufanian, Andrew Lofts, Seamus Adams, Meghan Kostashuk, Amanda M. Hopp, Michael W. Lawlor, Todd Hoare
Summary: By combining noncytotoxic perfluorocarbon emulsions with in situ gelling dynamic covalently cross-linked hydrogels, an injectable hydrogel with macropore generation capability during gelation is created. The perfluorocarbon component evaporates upon heating to physiological temperature, allowing the formation of macropores. The porous hydrogel improves cell viability and mass transport, making it suitable for cell therapy and tissue engineering applications.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patrick Morkus, Sarah Rassenberg, Danika Montpetit, Carlos D. M. Filipe, David R. Latulippe
Summary: This paper describes the development of cell-based biosensors (CBBs) for rapidly detecting the presence and predicting the type and concentration of biocides. The sensitivity of the CBB assay can be improved by tuning the type/salinity of the buffer used to suspend the cells and changing the number of cells used in the assay. Evidence is provided that the CBB assay can be performed using a compact, commercially available fluorometer.
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Chloe Dawson, Fei Xu, Todd Hoare
Summary: This study demonstrates the fabrication of aligned hydrogel nanofibers using reactive cell electrospinning technique. The scaffolds support cell viability and show higher cell aspect ratios on aligned scaffolds. Cell-loaded bilayer scaffolds enable localized directional cell responses.
ACS BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Michael V. Kiriakou, Amir Saeid Pakdel, Richard M. Berry, Todd Hoare, Marc A. Dube, Emily D. Cranston
Summary: This study investigates the impact of polymer-grafted cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) on the performance of water-based adhesives. It is found that CNCs with low degree of polymerization (DP) grafts can significantly improve tack and peel strength of pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), but PSAs containing CNCs with high DP grafts exhibit reduced shear strength due to CNC aggregation. These findings provide guidelines for optimizing sustainable latex-based PSAs in the future.
