Variation of various factor<i>s</i> measured in the HA-proteins liquids.

<p>Change of <i>ε</i> (1) and <i>φ</i> (2) of 500 mg/L nano-HA in the presence of cyt c (A) and hb (B). The size (>3 µm and >5 µm) fraction (C and D) and surface potential (E and F) of the suspending particles in the presence of cyt c (C, E) or hb (D, F) at pH 7.4 in 0.15 M NaCl.</p

Effect of nano-HA on the cyt c activity.

<p>A: Changes in cyt c peroxidase activity, where the suspensions contained 100 mg/L cyt c and 0 to 400 mg/L nano-HA particles at pH 7.4 in 0.15 M NaCl. B: Effect of time on absorbance of the nano-HA-cyt c suspensions initially containing 0.100 g/L cyt c, 0 to 400 mg/L nano-HA (curve 1 to 5), 25 mM ABTS, 120 mM hydrogen peroxide, and 0.15 M NaCl at pH 7.4, all measured against the reagent blank. C: Effect of nano-HA on the activity rate constant (<i>k</i> = d<i>A</i>/d<i>t</i>) (1) and free cyt c (<i>c</i>_{cyt c}) (2).</p

Toxicity characteristics of Zebrafish embryos and larvae.

<p>The normal developing embryos and larvae exposed in the reconstituted water (A), 400 mg/L nano-TiO₂ (B), 400 mg/L nano-SiO₂ (C) and 400 mg/L nano-HA (D). AM- axial malformation, E- edema, P- pericardial, PE- pericardial edema, YS- yolk sac and YSE- yolk sac edema.</p

Cartoon illustration for proteins binding to nano-HA.

<p>A: cyt c and B: hb. Positive-negative charge attraction pulled the peptide chain binding on the particle surface and N-H···O and O-H···O hydrogen bonds formed. Twisting and transmutation of the peptide chain is illustrated intuitively.</p

Variation of γ of proteins in the presence of nano-HA.

<p>1: γ of cyt c (a) and hb (b) in the presence of nano-HA. a- the suspensions containing 500 mg/L nano-HA and 10 to 200 mg/L cyt c and b- 2500 mg/L nano-HA and 20 to 300 mg/L hb. All of the liquids were at pH 7.4 in 0.15 M NaCl. 2: Plots γ⁻¹ vs. <i>c_L</i>⁻¹ of the above liquids.</p

Change of the secondary conformation factors of cyt c and hb in the presence of nano-HA particles.

*<p>: A0 and B0- the absence of nano-HA; A1 and B1- 200 mg/L nano-HA added in cyt c and hb solutions. All are three replicated determinations.</p

Toxicity-causing rate of Zebrafish embryos and larvae.

<p>A: Hatching rate, B: Mortality, C: PE and D: YSE. Exposed in 100 mg/L nano-HA, 100 mg/L nano-TiO₂ and 100 mg/L nano-SiO₂.</p

Earthworm extract as a biocatalyst for asymmetric Mannich addition of cyclic ketimine 3-aryl-2<i>H</i>-1,4-benzoxazines

<p>The asymmetric Mannich reaction of 3-substituted-2<i>H</i>-1,4-benzoxazines and acetone catalysed by a crude extract from earthworms is reported. The influence of solvents, water contents, catalyst loading, amounts of substrates and temperature on the reaction was investigated. Yields of up to 51% with enantioselectivities of up to 87% ee were achieved under the optimized conditions. This research promotes the development of earthworm extract as a catalyst in Mannich reaction.</p

Sensitive and Quantitative Detection of C‑Reaction Protein Based on Immunofluorescent Nanospheres Coupled with Lateral Flow Test Strip

Sensitive and quantitative detection of protein biomarkers with a point-of-care (POC) assay is significant for early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of diseases. In this paper, a quantitative lateral flow assay with high sensitivity for protein biomarkers was established by utilizing fluorescent nanospheres (FNs) as reporters. Each fluorescent nanosphere (FN) contains 332 ± 8 CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), leading to its superstrong luminescence, 380-fold higher than that of one QD. Then a detection limit of 27.8 pM C-reaction protein (CRP) could be achieved with an immunofluorescent nanosphere (IFN)-based lateral flow test strip. The assay was 257-fold more sensitive than that with a conventional Au-based lateral flow test strip for CRP detection. Besides, the fluorescence intensity of FNs and bioactivity of IFNs were stable during 6 months of storage. Hence, the assay owns good reproducibility (intra-assay variability of 5.3% and interassay variability of 6.6%). Furthermore, other cancer biomarkers (PSA, CEA, AFP) showed negative results by this method, validating the excellent specificity of the method. Then the assay was successfully applied to quantitatively detect CRP in peripheral blood plasma samples from lung cancer and breast cancer patients, and healthy people, facilitating the diagnosis of lung cancer. It holds a good prospect of POC protein biomarker detection

Dual-Signal Readout Nanospheres for Rapid Point-of-Care Detection of Ebola Virus Glycoprotein

Rapid detection of highly contagious pathogens is the key to increasing the probability of survival and reducing infection rates. We developed a sensitive and quantitative lateral flow assay for detection of Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein with a novel multifunctional nanosphere (RNs@Au) as a reporter. Each RNs@Au contains hundreds of quantum dots and dozens of Au nanoparticles and can achieve enhanced dual-signal readout (fluorescence signal for quantitative detection and colorimetric signal for visual detection). Antibody (Ab) and streptavidin (SA) were simultaneously modified onto the RNs@Au to label the target and act as signal enhancer. After the target was labeled by the Ab–RNs@Au–SA and captured on the test line, biotin-modified RNs@Au was used to amplify the dual signal by the reaction of SA with biotin. The assay enables naked-eye detection of 2 ng/mL glycoprotein within 20 min, and the quantitative detection limit is 0.18 ng/mL. Additionally, the assay has been successfully tested in field work for detecting EBOV in spiked urine, plasma, and tap water samples and is thus a promising candidate for early diagnosis of suspect infections in EBOV-stricken areas