Can we use rare-earth nanocrystals to target glycans for the visualization of melanoma?

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles from Spirulina microalgae and its antibacterial activity

The present work focuses on a low-cost, simple, and green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by mixing AgNO₃ solution with the extract of Spirulina platensis (SP) without any chemical reducing and/or capping agents. The green synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed by the color change from colorless to yellowish brown. The biosynthesis of AgNPs was further confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), biological transmission electron microscopy (Bio-TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The UV-vis spectroscopy results showed the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of AgNPs around 450 nm. Bio-TEM analysis revealed that the Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed with average range of 5-50 nm. XRD results indicated that the green synthetic process produced face-centered cubic structure of AgNPs. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis showed that the bioactive molecules from the SP extract believed to be the responsible for the reduction of Ag ions. Furthermore, the synthesized AgNPs were evaluated against pathogens such as Staphylococcus sp. and Klebsiella sp. The AgNPs (1-4 mM) extensively reduced the growth rate of the pathogens.

Nanotechnology in Glycomics: Applications in Diagnostics, Therapy, Imaging, and Separation Processes

This review comprehensively covers the most recent achievements (from 2013) in the successful integration of nanomaterials in the field of glycomics. The first part of the paper addresses the beneficial properties of nanomaterials for the construction of biosensors, bioanalytical devices, and protocols for the detection of various analytes, including viruses and whole cells, together with their key characteristics. The second part of the review focuses on the application of nanomaterials integrated with glycans for various biomedical applications, that is, vaccines against viral and bacterial infections and cancer cells, as therapeutic agents, for in vivo imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, and for selective drug delivery. The final part of the review describes various ways in which glycan enrichment can be effectively done using nanomaterials, molecularly imprinted polymers with polymer thickness controlled at the nanoscale, with a subsequent analysis of glycans by mass spectrometry. A short section describing an active glycoprofiling by microengines (microrockets) is covered as well.

β-NaGdF4:Eu3+ nanocrystal markers for melanoma tumor imaging

Europium doped nanocrystals can be optimized to be successfully used as visualization markers for i.e. melanoma tumor.