Development of double-generation gold nanoparticle chip-based dengue virus detection system combining fluorescence turn-on probes

Emerging Trends of Gold Nanostructures for Point-of-Care Biosensor-Based Detection of COVID-19

In 2019, a worldwide pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged. SARS-CoV-2 is the deadly microorganism responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has caused millions of deaths and irreversible health problems worldwide. To restrict the spread of SARS-CoV-2, accurate detection of COVID-19 is essential for the identification and control of infected cases. Although recent detection technologies such as the real-time polymerase chain reaction delivers an accurate diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, they require a long processing duration, expensive equipment, and highly skilled personnel. Therefore, a rapid diagnosis with accurate results is indispensable to offer effective disease suppression. Nanotechnology is the backbone of current science and technology developments including nanoparticles (NPs) that can biomimic the corona and develop deep interaction with its proteins because of their identical structures on the nanoscale. Various NPs have been extensively applied in numerous medical applications, including implants, biosensors, drug delivery, and bioimaging. Among them, point-of-care biosensors mediated with gold nanoparticles (GNPSs) have received great attention due to their accurate sensing characteristics, which are widely used in the detection of amino acids, enzymes, DNA, and RNA in samples. GNPS have reconstructed the biomedical application of biosensors because of its outstanding physicochemical characteristics. This review provides an overview of emerging trends in GNP-mediated point-of-care biosensor strategies for diagnosing various mutated forms of human coronaviruses that incorporate different transducers and biomarkers. The review also specifically highlights trends in gold nanobiosensors for coronavirus detection, ranging from the initial COVID-19 outbreak to its subsequent evolution into a pandemic.

Near-infrared fluorescent probe with large Stokes shift for specific detection of lysine

A new near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe CL based on coumarin- dicyanoisophorone was synthesized. Addition of Lys to probe CL solution in DMF/H2O (9:1, v/v) medium resulted in noticeable enhancement in the intensity of the fluorescence emission at 702 nm, accompanying distinct color change from yellow to pink. While addition of other amino acids and biothiols (Gly, Hcy, GSH, Glu, Val, Tyr, Arg, Trp, Lys, His, Leu, Phe, Asp and Met) did not bring about substantial changes in both fluorescence emission and color. The detection limit was calculated to be 0.51 μM. Job's plot test revealed that probe CL and Lys formed a complex of 1:1 stoichiometry. Probe CL showed high stability and could be used to recognize Lys in a wide pH range of 4.0-10.0. The sensing mechanism was proposed and verified by 1H NMR spectral measurement. The dual-modal fluorescence turn-on and colorimetric NIR probe with an extremely large Stokes shift of 280 nm may be utilized for highly specific and practical sensing of Lys.

Highly pH-Responsive Sensor Based on a EuIII Metal-Organic Framework with Efficient Recognition of Arginine and Lysine in Living Cells

A lanthanide-based three-dimensional metal-organic framework with excellent water, acid/base, and solvent stability, namely {[(CH3)2NH2]0.7[Eu2(BTDBA)1.5(lac)0.7(H2O)2]·2H2O·2DMF·2CH3CN}n (JXUST-29, H4BTDBA = 4',4‴-(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-4,7-diyl)bis([1,1'-biphenyl]-3,5-dicarboxylic acid), Hlac = lactic acid), has been synthesized and characterized. Since the N atoms of the thiadiazole group will not coordinate with lanthanide ions, JXUST-29 has a free basic N-site accessible to small H+ ions, which allows it to be used as a promising pH fluorescence sensor. Interestingly, the luminescence signal was significantly enhanced, with an approximately 54-fold enhancement in the emission intensity when the pH value was increased from 2 to 5, which is the typical behavior of pH probes. In addition, JXUST-29 can also be used as a luminescence sensor to detect l-arginine (Arg) and l-lysine (Lys) in an aqueous solution through fluorescence enhancement and the blue-shift effect. The detection limits were 0.023 and 0.077 μM, respectively. In addition, JXUST-29-based devices were designed and developed to facilitate detection. Importantly, JXUST-29 is also capable of detecting and sensing Arg and Lys in living cells.

State-of-the-Art of Nanodiagnostics and Nanotherapeutics against SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, with millions of infected patients worldwide, has severely challenged all aspects of public health. In this regard, early and rapid detection of infected cases and providing effective therapeutics against the virus are in urgent demand. Along with conventional clinical protocols, nanomaterial-based diagnostics and therapeutics hold a great potential against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Indeed, nanoparticles with their outstanding characteristics would render additional advantages to the current approaches for rapid and accurate diagnosis and also developing prophylactic vaccines or antiviral therapeutics. In this review, besides presenting an overview of the coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2, we discuss the introduced nanomaterial-based detection assays and devices and also antiviral formulations and vaccines for coronaviruses.

Fabrication of Double Emission Enhancement Fluorescent Nanoparticles with Combined PET and AIEE Effects

The major challenge in the fabrication of fluorescent silica nanoparticles (FSNs) based on dye-doped silica nanoparticles (DDSNs) is aggregation-caused fluorescence quenching. Here, we constructed an FSN based on a double emission enhancement (DEE) platform. A thio-reactive fluorescence turn-on molecule, N-butyl-4-(4-maleimidostyryl)-1,8-naphthalimide (CS), was bound to a silane coupling agent, (3-mercaptopropyl)-trimethoxysilane (MPTMS), and the product N-butyl-4-(3-(trimethoxysilyl-propylthio)styryl)-1,8-naphthalimide (CSP) was further used to fabricate a core–shell nanoparticle through the Stöber method. We concluded that the turn-on emission by CSP originated from the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between the maleimide moiety and the CSP core scaffold, and the second emission enhancement was attributed to the aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) in CSP when encapsulated inside a core–shell nanoparticle. Thus, FSNs could be obtained through DEE based on a combination of PET and AIEE effects. Systematic investigations verified that the resulting FSNs showed the traditional solvent-independent and photostable optical properties. The results implied that the novel FSNs are suitable as biomarkers in living cells and function as fluorescent visualizing agents for intracellular imaging and drug carriers.

A recombinant platform for flavivirus vaccines and diagnostics using chimeras of a new insect-specific virus

Flaviviruses such as dengue, yellow fever, Zika, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis virus present substantial global health burdens. New vaccines are being sought to address safety and manufacturing issues associated with current live attenuated vaccines. Here, we describe a new insect-specific flavivirus, Binjari virus, which was found to be remarkably tolerant for exchange of its structural protein genes (prME) with those of the aforementioned pathogenic vertebrate-infecting flaviviruses (VIFs). Chimeric BinJ/VIF-prME viruses remained replication defective in vertebrate cells but replicated with high efficiency in mosquito cells. Cryo-electron microscopy and monoclonal antibody binding studies illustrated that the chimeric BinJ/VIF-prME virus particles were structurally and immunologically similar to their parental VIFs. Pilot manufacturing in C6/36 cells suggests that high yields can be reached up to 10^9.5 cell culture infectious dose/ml or ≈7 mg/liter. BinJ/VIF-prME viruses showed utility in diagnostic (microsphere immunoassays and ELISAs using panels of human and equine sera) and vaccine applications (illustrating protection against Zika virus challenge in murine IFNAR^-/- mouse models). BinJ/VIF-prME viruses thus represent a versatile, noninfectious (for vertebrate cells), high-yield technology for generating chimeric flavivirus particles with low biocontainment requirements.

Sensitive Detection of Dengue Virus Type 2 E-Proteins Signals Using Self-Assembled Monolayers/Reduced Graphene Oxide-PAMAM Dendrimer Thin Film-SPR Optical Sensor

In this work, sensitive detection of dengue virus type 2 E-proteins (DENV-2 E-proteins) was performed in the range of 0.08 pM to 0.5 pM. The successful DENV detection at very low concentration is a matter of concern for targeting the early detection after the onset of dengue symptoms. Here, we developed a SPR sensor based on self-assembled monolayer/reduced graphene oxide-polyamidoamine dendrimer (SAM/NH₂rGO/PAMAM) thin film to detect DENV-2 E-proteins. Surface characterizations involving X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirms the incorporation of NH₂rGO-PAMAM nanoparticles in the prepared sensor films. The specificity, sensitivity, binding affinity, and selectivity of the SPR sensor were then evaluated. Results indicated that the variation of the sensing layer due to different spin speed, time incubation, and concentration provided a better interaction between the analyte and sensing layer. The linear dependence of the SPR sensor showed good linearity (R² = 0.92) with the lowest detection of 0.08 pM DENV-2 E-proteins. By using the Langmuir model, the equilibrium association constant was obtained at very high value of 6.6844 TM⁻¹ (R² = 0.99). High selectivity of the SPR sensor towards DENV-2 E-proteins was achieved in the presence of other competitors.

CLEC5A expressed on myeloid cells as a M2 biomarker relates to immunosuppression and decreased survival in patients with glioma

Glioma is the most common tumor in the central nervous system that portends a poor prognosis. Key genes negatively related to survival may provide targets for therapy to improve the outcome of glioma. Here, we report a protein-coding gene CLEC5A, which is the top 1 gene by univariate Cox regression analysis of 524 primary GBM samples. Expression of CLEC5A is significantly correlated with decreased overall survival in patients with glioma via large-scale analysis. An analysis of 2589 patient samples showed that CLEC5A expression is higher in (1) glioblastoma than in lower-grade glioma and nontumor tissue, (2) in the mesenchymal subtype than in other subtypes, and (3) in IDH1-wild type glioblastoma than in IDH1-mutated glioblastoma. Notably, this tumor-associated biomarker is expressed preferentially on myeloid cells over glioma cells. And it shows a strong co-expression with M2 macrophage biomarker. Furthermore, CLEC5A-associated genes are enriched in immunosuppressive biological processes. The silico flow cytometry also showed CLEC5A expression related to less tumor purity and more tumor-promoting leukocytes infiltration. In conclusion, we proposed a new M2 biomarker expressed on myeloid cells that may decrease survival in patients with glioma through immunosuppressive mechanisms.

Nanoparticle-Based LDI-MS Immunoassay for the Multiple Diagnosis of Viral Infections

Many serious public health emergencies around the globe are caused by viral epidemics. Thus, developing a reliable method for viral screening is in high demand. Multiplex assays for simultaneous detection and fast screening of high-risk pathogens are especially needed. This study employs metal nanoparticles to generate specific mass spectral signals for different RNA viruses, which enables simultaneous detection of whole viruses by laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). We developed a nanoparticle-based sandwich immunosorbent assay as a sensing platform for the detection of viruses and viral nonstructural protein by LDI-MS. Cellulose acetate membrane (CAM) serves as the substrate for the fabrication of the sandwich immunosorbent assay with the advantages of clean mass spectra and high enrichment of analytes. Antibody-modified metal nanoparticles (Ab-MNPs; M = Au or Ag) act as metallic biocodes for the LDI-MS detection. The signal amplification readout for the virus is through the pulsed laser-induced formation of metal cluster ions ([M _n]⁺; n = 1-3) from the Ab-MNPs which specifically bind on the CAM. Our sensing system is effective for the detection of intact viruses [Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV)], nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of Zika virus (ZIKV), EV71-spiked human serum samples, and the simultaneous detection of EV71 and ZIKV. Our probe efficiently detects EV71 in real clinical serum samples with >95% agreement with RT-qPCR results. This high-throughput LDI-MS viral detection system is simple, reliable, and high-throughput. We believe this platform has the potential to be employed for the routine screening of patients with viral infections.

Combination of microfluidic high-throughput production and parameter screening for efficient shaping of gold nanocubes using Dean-flow mixing

Metal nanoparticles and their special optical properties, the so-called localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), facilitate many applications in various fields. Due to the strong dependency of the LSPR on particle geometry, their synthesis is a challenging and time-consuming procedure especially for non-spherical shapes. In contrast, micromixers offer new experimental approaches and therefore enable the simplification of several processes. By using a zigzag micromixer (Dean-Flow-Mixer, DFM) that induces Dean-flow secondary flow patterns, we theoretically and experimentally show the mixing efficiency. Thus, we highlight the advantages of using it in the multistep synthesis of Au nanoparticles. Based on a narrow size distribution of Au nanocubes and an increased yield in combination with higher reproducibility, we depict the need for and advantage of the DFM to control the incubation times during the growth process. We further show that, by using the DFM, easy and very fast Au nanocube edge length tuning (53 nm, 58 nm, 70 nm and 75 nm) is possible by simultaneously reducing the consumption of the materials by up to 95%. We finally demonstrate the versatile abilities by using the DFM for parameter screening on examples of different halides and accessible bromide in the growth solutions. Therefore, we highlight the optimal concentration for the different growth regimes and the influences on the Au nanoparticle morphology (spheres, cubes and rods) and their defined shaping.

A fluorescent pH probe for acidic organelles in living cells

The molecular design of pH sensor ADA is based on combining photoinduced electron transfer (PET) and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The fluorescent emission response against a pH value is suitable for probing acidic organelles in living cells.