Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Quantitative Analysis: A Review for Its Application in the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Domains

Advances in the preparation, characterization, and biological functions of chitosan oligosaccharide derivatives: A review

Chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), which represent the positively charged basic amino oligosaccharide in nature, is the deacetylated and degraded products of chitin. COS has become the focus of intensive scientific investigation, with a growing body of practical and clinical studies highlighting its remarkable health-enhancing benefits. These effects encompass a wide range of properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor activities. With the rapid advancements in chemical modification technology for oligosaccharides, many COS derivatives have been synthesized and investigated. These newly developed derivatives possess more stable chemical structures, improved biological activities, and find applications across a broader spectrum of fields. Given the recent interest in the chemical modification of COS, this comprehensive review seeks to consolidate knowledge regarding the preparation methods for COS derivatives, alongside discussions on their structural characterization. Additionally, various biological activities of COS derivatives have been discussed in detail. Lastly, the potential applications of COS derivatives in biomedicine have been reviewed and presented.

Molecular Interactions Leading to Advancements in the Techniques for COVID-19 Detection: A Review

Since 2019 the world has been in a combat with the highly contagious disease COVID-19 which is caused by the rapid transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Detection of this disease in an early stage helps to control its spread and management. To combat this epidemic with one-time effective medication, improved quick analytical procedures must be developed and validated. The requirement for accurate and precise analytical methods for the diagnosis of the virus and antibodies in infected patients has been a matter of concern. The global impact of this virus has motivated scientists and researchers to investigate and develop various analytical diagnostic techniques. This review includes the study of standard methods which are reliable and accredited for the analytical recognition of the said virus. For early detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, RT-PCR (Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) is an accurate method among other methods and, thus, considered as the "gold standard" technique. Here, we outline the most extensively used analytical methods for diagnosing COVID-19, along with a brief description of each technique and its analytical aspects/perspective.

Imaging and Liquid Biopsy for Distinguishing True Progression From Pseudoprogression in Gliomas, Current Advances and Challenges

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors with a poor prognosis. Assessing treatment response is challenging because magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may not distinguish true progression (TP) from pseudoprogression (PsP). This review aims to discuss imaging techniques and liquid biopsies used to distinguish TP from PsP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This review synthesizes existing literature to examine advances in imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance diffusion imaging (MRDI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) MRI, and liquid biopsies, for identifying TP or PsP through tumor markers and tissue characteristics.

RESULTS

Advanced imaging techniques, including MRDI and PWI MRI, have proven effective in delineating tumor tissue properties, offering valuable insights into glioma behavior. Similarly, liquid biopsy has emerged as a potent tool for identifying tumor-derived markers in biofluids, offering a non-invasive glimpse into tumor evolution. Despite their promise, these methodologies grapple with significant challenges. Their sensitivity remains inconsistent, complicating the accurate differentiation between TP and PSP. Furthermore, the absence of standardized protocols across platforms impedes the reliability of comparisons, while inherent biological variability adds complexity to data interpretation.

CONCLUSION

Their potential applications have been highlighted, but gaps remain before routine clinical use. Further research is needed to develop and validate these promising methods for distinguishing TP from PsP in gliomas.

Rapid Identification of Wild Gentiana Genus in Different Geographical Locations Based on FT-IR and an Improved Neural Network Structure Double-Net

Gentiana Genus, a herb mainly distributed in Asia and Europe, has been used to treat the damp heat disease of the liver for over 2000 years in China. Previous studies have shown significant differences in the compositional contents of wild Gentiana Genus samples from different geographical origins. Therefore, the traceable geographic locations of the wild Gentiana Genus samples are essential to ensure practical medicinal value. Over the last few years, the developments in chemometrics have facilitated the analysis of the composition of medicinal herbs via spectroscopy. Notably, FT-IR spectroscopy is widely used because of its benefit of allowing rapid, nondestructive measurements. In this paper, we collected wild Gentiana Genus samples from seven different provinces (222 samples in total). Twenty-one different FT-IR spectral pre-processing methods that were used in our experiments. Meanwhile, we also designed a neural network, Double-Net, to predict the geographical locations of wild Gentiana Genus plants via FT-IR spectroscopy. The experiments showed that the accuracy of the neural network structure Double-Net we designed can reach 100%, and the F1_score can reach 1.0.