Selectivity and specificity: pros and cons in sensing

Sensing using specific and selective receptors provides two very different but complementary strategies. This Sensor Issues article will discuss the merits and challenges of specific sensors, and selective sensors based on synthetic arrays. We will examine where each has been successfully applied to a sensing challenge, and then look at how a combined approach could take elements of both to provide new sensor platforms

Nanoparticles in Biomedicine: Delivery and Sensing

This lecture by Dr. Vincent Rotello will present his lab\u27s recent research in the areas of therapeutics and diagnostics using gold nanoparticles

Biosensing using Particle-(Bio)Polymer Sensor Arrays

We have developed sensor arrays containing non-covalent gold nanoparticle-fluorescent polymer assemblies to identify and quantify biological targets in minutes using a platreader platform. These sensors can identify protein targets at nanomolar concentrations in both buffer and human serum, and to differentiate between species and even different strains of bacteria. In more recent studies we have demonstrated that these sensor systems can discriminate between isogenic healthy, cancerous and metastatic cells

Synthesis and Characterization of Naphthalenediimide-Functionalized Flavin Derivatives

Two acceptor–acceptor dyads have been synthesized featuring a flavin moiety and a naphthalenediimide (NDI) unit. The NDI unit is linked to the flavin through a short spacer group via either the N(3) or N(10) positions of the flavin. We have investigated the UV-Vis and redox properties of these multi-electron accepting systems which indicate that these materials display the collective properties of their component systems. Fluorescence spectroscopy measurements have revealed that their emission properties are dominated by the flavin unit

ROC curve analyses of eyewitness identification decisions: An analysis of the recent debate

How should the accuracy of eyewitness identification decisions be measured, so that best practices for identification can be determined? This fundamental question is under intense debate. One side advocates for continued use of a traditional measure of identification accuracy, known as the diagnosticity ratio, whereas the other side argues that receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) should be used instead because diagnosticity is confounded with response bias. Diagnosticity proponents have offered several criticisms of ROCs, which we show are either false or irrelevant to the assessment of eyewitness accuracy. We also show that, like diagnosticity, Bayesian measures of identification accuracy confound response bias with witnesses’ ability to discriminate guilty from innocent suspects. ROCs are an essential tool for distinguishing memory-based processes from decisional aspects of a response; simulations of different possible identification tasks and response strategies show that they offer important constraints on theory development

Validation of Humanized Mouse Antibodies

Antibody therapy is being developed and tested as one of the most promising agents for treatment of various human diseases. As of March 2016, 350 antibody candidates are in clinical trials. Many of these antibodies have been taken from animals and “humanized” by genetic modification. Our experiment tests monoclonal antibodies that have been harvested from mouse hybridoma (spleen-derived) cells and cloned until the heavy and light chains of the antibody can be recognized by human cells. Because of this “humanization” procedure, basic antibody assays are needed to demonstrate that the binding, specificity and functional parameters of the antibodies are not lost during cloning. The purpose of this research is to perform this validation through assays. The antibodies are harvested from cell supernatants and purified using affinity chromatography. Then, the antibody fractions are tested for reactivity with human target protein PTP-Beta, via western blot and ELISA procedures. Cross-reactivity of the antibody is tested against human eta and cynomolgus beta proteins. The work presented in this poster describes results from one particular mouse antibody, R15, which has been humanized to functionally enhance endothelial survival. The goal is to generate a therapeutic antibody candidate that improves endothelium survival and stability

Modulating the catalytic activity of enzyme-like nanoparticles through their surface functionalization

The inclusion of transition metal catalysts into nanoparticle scaffolds permits the creation of catalytic nanosystems (nanozymes) able to imitate the behaviour of natural enzymes. Here we report the fabrication of a family of nanozymes comprised of bioorthogonal ruthenium catalysts inserted in the protective monolayer of gold nanoparticles. By introducing simple modifications to the functional groups at the surface of the nanozymes, we have demonstrated control over the kinetic mechanism of our system. Cationic nanozymes with hydrophobic surface functionalities tend to replicate the classical Michaelis Menten model, while those with polar groups display substrate inhibition behaviour, a key mechanism present in 20% of natural enzymes. The structural parameters described herein can be used for creating artificial nanosystems that mimic the complexity observed in cell machinery. © 2018 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Welcome to the Excerpts in Pharmacy Research Journal

The editorial board at Cedarville University School of Pharmacy welcomes you to the inaugural issue of the Excerpts in Pharmacy Research Journal (ISSN 2374-4693)