E.Coli derived camelid antibodies as a sensor for P53 in saliva

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant tumor with 640,000 new cases annually in the world [1]. Saliva testing is non-invasive procedure that is capable to detect potential biomarkers for OSCC. It was shown that elevated level of p53 protein was identified in OSCC patients at different stages of the disease (ibid). Camelid antibodies containing only variable regions, nanobodies (VHH) and single-chain variable regions (scFv) with VH and VL, are becoming popular in many biological studies including diagnostic applications. It was identified that VL region alone showed higher affinity to p53 than VHH, and dimerization of VL region with another one increases the affinity up to 10 folds [2]. Camelid antibodies have similar affinity to its substrate as human antibodies and can be conjugated to other proteins without functional lose. They can be expressed and secreted in many organisms including E.Coli in high amount, which reduces the cost of antibodies production. Thus, the aim of this project is to design a biosensor, based on available sequence of antibodies, to detect p53 in saliva samples for OSCC diagnosis

Synthesis and Characterization of Silicon Based Anode Materials

Abstract We have synthesized amorphous silicon-nanomaterials displaying high capacity and stable cyclability using an original organometallic approach. The method is based on the decomposition of silicon compounds 1Si-P1-U-2016 and 1Si-P2-C-2016, where silicon is bound to four atoms bearing an electron-withdrawing group on the β-position. These compounds decompose under argon at temperature below 500 °C. Scanning Electron Microscopy displays particles with size less than 50 nm, considerably smaller than the critical size above which silicon nanostructures will pulverize [1]. The nanosilicon particles, remain amorphous upon sintering under argon at 1150 °C, and crystallize only above 1400 °C in air, yielding SiO2 (Tetragonal, space group P41212). The silicon nanoparticles show excellent cycling performance, retaining a specific capacity of 1000 mAh g-1, and maintain more than 98% of its initial reversible capacity after 150 cycles. High specific capacity and stable cycle performance of the synthesized silicon makes it a promising anode material for lithium ion batterie