News Item
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elie Dolgin
Summary: Researchers have been studying the formation and functions of peculiar droplets found inside cells for over a decade.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Halina Mikolajek, Miriam Weckener, Z. Faidon Brotzakis, Jiandong Huo, Evmorfia Dalietou, Audrey Le Bas, Pietro Sormanni, Peter J. Harrison, Philip N. Ward, Steven Truong, Lucile Moynie, Daniel K. Clare, Maud Dumoux, Joshua Dormon, Chelsea Norman, Naveed Hussain, Vinod Vogirala, Raymond J. Owens, Michele Vendruscolo, James H. Naismith
Summary: This study generated nanobodies with different affinities using the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and a naive library. By analyzing the structure-activity relationship, it was found that higher conformational entropy losses were associated with tighter binding. Structural ensembles and conformational fluctuations were investigated to enhance the affinity of nanobodies.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mohamed Qasim Al-Fahdawi, Ahmed Faris Aldoghachi, Fatah H. Alhassan, Faris A. J. Al-Doghachi, Hussah Abdullah Alshwyeh, Abdullah Rasedee, Sulaiman Mohammed Alnasser, Mothanna Sadiq Al-Qubaisi, Wisam Nabeel Ibrahim
Summary: Silver-doped magnesia nanoparticles (Ag/MgO) were synthesized and characterized using various techniques. The nanoparticles showed selective toxicity towards cancer cells and induced apoptosis by upregulating caspase activities and protein expressions related to cell death. The results suggest that Ag/MgO nanoparticles have potential as a promising anticancer agent.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sreejith Raveendran, Anindito Sen, Toru Maekawa, D. Sakthi Kumar
Summary: The study explores the deleterious effects of therapeutic gold nanocages on the subcellular organelles of MCF7 cells, demonstrating significant localization of the nanocarriers within specific organelles leading to their destruction within 96 hours.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Deamelys Hernandez, Juan C. Vidal, Francisco Laborda, Josefina Perez-Arantegui, Ana C. Gimenez-Ingalaturre, Juan R. Castillo
Summary: In this study, AgNPs in consumer products were detected, characterized, and quantified using the PCC method. A power allometric function model was found between the frequency of AgNPs collisions and the nanoparticle concentration, demonstrating a linear relationship between the number of collisions and the concentration of silver nanoparticles.
Article
Cell Biology
Kiranjit K. Bains, Robert D. Young, Elena Koudouna, Philip N. Lewis, Andrew J. Quantock
Summary: Imaging techniques were used to study the three-dimensional microanatomy and spatiotemporal relationships of cells, extracellular matrix, and vasculature at the corneo-scleral limbus of developing and mature chicken eyes. Results showed the development of structures similar to Palisades of Vogt, associated with characteristics of stem cells, and direct cell-cell associations between corneal epithelial and stromal cells.
Article
Virology
Moises Garcia-Serradilla, Cristina Risco
Summary: Drug repurposing is an important strategy for discovering new antiviral drugs. Silver nanoparticles show promising antiviral properties against Bunyamwera virus by reducing viral production in infected cells. The nanoparticles affect the intracellular distribution of organelles without causing significant structural alterations.
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Aldahir Ramos-Orea, Teresa Ramirez-Apan, Rosa Maria Chavez-Santos, Rodrigo Aguayo-Ortiz, Clara Espitia, Mayra Silva Miranda, Ruben O. Torres-Ochoa, Roberto Martinez
Summary: A high-yielding total synthesis of the indole alkaloid prenostodione was successfully completed in 4 steps, showing promising cytotoxic activities in tumor cell lines. Structural-activity studies revealed the importance of the aromatic substituent at the C-4 position for cytotoxicity. Compounds with -OMe and -NO2 groups at C-4 exhibited higher selectivity in certain cancer cells and were identified as potential hit compounds for new anticancer agents.
ORGANIC & BIOMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Agnes E. Kulmany, Eva Frank, Dora Kovacs, Kerstin Kirisits, Georg Krupitza, Patricia Neuperger, Robert Alfoldi, Laszlo G. Puskas, Gabor J. Szebeni, Istvan Zupko
Summary: The D-ring-modified exo-heterocyclic androstadiene derivative 17APAD shows high selectivity and superior effects in inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis in human breast cancer-derived cell lines compared to the reference drug cisplatin.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Dongyang Wang, Baiji Xue, Lin Wang, Yidi Zhang, Lijun Liu, Yanmin Zhou
Summary: This study successfully biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the culture supernatants of Aspergillus sydowii, and identified the AgNPs with various methods. The optimized synthesis conditions showed that AgNPs had antifungal and antiproliferative activities.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pasakorn Jutakridsada, Totsaporn Suwannaruang, Pornnapa Kasemsiri, Natthida Weerapreeyakul, Jesper T. N. Knijnenburg, Somnuk Theerakulpisut, Khanita Kamwilaisak, Prinya Chindaprasirt
Summary: AgNPs/Ag-cCNC were prepared from Eucalyptus pulp using a three-step process. The Ag-cCNC exhibited slow and controllable release of Ag+ ions and showed potential anticancer activity in MCF-7 cells. The samples also demonstrated shear thinning properties, making them suitable for drug delivery by injection.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Raphael Glatthaar, Franz-Philipp Schmidt, Adnan Hammud, Thomas Lunkenbein, Tobias Okker, Frank Huster, Sven Seren, Beatriz Cela Greven, Giso Hahn, Barbara Terheiden
Summary: Metallization of poly-Si/SiOx passivating contacts with fire-through silver paste is investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The etching of the paste and the subsequent Ag crystallite formation is stopped by the interface with the SiOx layer. Energy-dispersive X-Ray mapping reveals the presence of an oxide layer around the Ag crystallites, which differs significantly from classical cell concepts.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Takeshi Mori, Miyako Yoshida, Mai Hazekawa, Daisuke Ishibashi, Yoshiro Hatanaka, Rie Kakehashi, Makoto Nakagawa, Toshihiro Nagao, Miki Yoshii, Honami Kojima, Rio Uno, Takahiro Uchida
Summary: This study evaluated the antifungal activity of CKR12-PLGA-MCZ micelles using nanotechnology and found that they showed higher antifungal activity compared to CKR12-PLGA micelles and MCZ solution. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the micelles disrupted both the cell wall and cell membrane of Candida albicans, revealing a synergistic effect of antifungal activity using a combination of antimicrobial peptide fragment analogues and MCZ for targeted drug delivery.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Fatemeh Moosavi, Ahmad Ebadi, Maryam Mohabbati, Tahereh Damghani, Motahareh Mortazavi, Ramin Miri, Omidreza Firuzi
Summary: The study synthesized 27 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one C5 amide derivatives and found that some of them displayed considerable anti-proliferative effects against breast cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia cell lines, with relatively sparing non-cancer cells. Some derivatives bearing benzothiazolyl carboxamide moiety at the C5 position showed the highest activities.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Ruohua Shi, Keyan Bi, Kai Du, Lei Ma, Fang Fang, Lingyu Duan, Tingting Jiang, Tiejun Huang
Summary: Cell membrane segmentation in electron microscopy (EM) images is an important task. Current approaches perform well on low-resolution datasets but struggle with high-resolution datasets. Through eye movement and perceptual consistency experiments, we found that humans are more sensitive to membrane structure and can tolerate misalignment. Based on these findings, we propose a computational framework that incorporates human perception characteristics, including the perceptual Hausdorff distance (PHD) evaluation metric and a PHD-guided segmentation network (PS-Net).