A comprehensive review on the development and state of the art of colorimetric and fluorometric sensor arrays is presented Chemical sensing aims to detect subtle changes in the chemical environment by transforming relevant chemical or physical properties of molecular or ionic species (ie, analytes) into an analytically useful output Optical arrays based on chemoresponsive colorants (dyes and nanoporous pigments) probe the chemical reactivity of analytes, rather than their physical properties (eg, mass) The chemical specificity of the olfactory system does not come from specific receptors for specific analytes (eg, the traditional lock-and-key model of substrate-enzyme interactions), but rather olfaction makes use of pattern recognition of the combined response of several hundred olfactory receptors In a similar fashion, arrays of chemoresponsive colorants provide high-dimensional data from the color or fluorescence changes of the dyes in these arrays as they are exposed to analytes This provides chemical sensing with high sensitivity (often down to parts per billion levels), impressive discrimination among very similar analytes, and exquisite fingerprinting of extremely similar mixtures over a wide range of analyte types, in both the gas and liquid phases Design of both sensor arrays and instrumentation for their analysis are discussed In addition, the various chemometric and statistical analyses of high-dimensional data (including hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), support vector machines (SVMs), and artificial neural networks (ANNs)) are presented and critiqued in reference to their use in chemical sensing A variety of applications are also discussed, including personal dosimetry of toxic industrial chemical, detection of explosives or accelerants, quality control of foods and beverages, biosensing intracellularly, identification of bacteria and fungi, and detection of cancer and disease biomarkers

The Optoelectronic Nose: Colorimetric and Fluorometric Sensor Arrays.

Intracellular delivery is a key step in biological research and has enabled decades of biomedical discoveries. It is also becoming increasingly important in industrial and medical applications ranging from biomanufacture to cell-based therapies. Here, we review techniques for membrane disruption-based intracellular delivery from 1911 until the present. These methods achieve rapid, direct, and universal delivery of almost any cargo molecule or material that can be dispersed in solution. We start by covering the motivations for intracellular delivery and the challenges associated with the different cargo types—small molecules, proteins/peptides, nucleic acids, synthetic nanomaterials, and large cargo. The review then presents a broad comparison of delivery strategies followed by an analysis of membrane disruption mechanisms and the biology of the cell response. We cover mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, and chemical strategies of membrane disruption with a particular emphasis on their applications a...

/pdf/intracellular-delivery-by-membrane-disruption-mechanisms-1r7lisc9lz.pdf

Intracellular Delivery by Membrane Disruption: Mechanisms, Strategies, and Concepts.

Ferrite nanoparticles (FNPs) have attracted a great interest due to their wide applications in several areas such as biomedical, wastewater treatment, catalyst and electronic device. This review focuses on the synthesis, characterisation and application of FNPs in electronic device with more emphasis on the recently published works. The most commonly used synthesis techniques along with their advantages and limitations are discussed. The available characterisation techniques and their application in electronic materials such as sensors and biosensors, energy storage, microwave device, electromagnetic interference shielding and high-density recording media are briefly reviewed.

Ferrite nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterisation and applications in electronic device

https://dr.ntu.edu.sg/bitstream/10356/88820/1/Recent%20progress%20on%20semiconducting%20polymer%20nanoparticles%20for%20molecular%20imaging%20and%20cancer%20phototherapy.pdf

Recent progress on semiconducting polymer nanoparticles for molecular imaging and cancer phototherapy

Chiral self-assembled nanomaterials with biological applications have attracted great interest. In this study, DNA-driven gold-upconversion nanoparticle (Au-UCNP) pyramids were fabricated to detect intracellular microRNA (miRNA) in real time. The Au-UCNP pyramids are doubly optically active, displaying strong plasmonic circular dichroism (CD) at 521 nm and significant luminescence in 500-600 nm, and therefore can be monitored by both of them. CD will decrease while the luminescence intensity increases in the presence of miRNA. The experimental results show that the CD intensity had an outstanding linear range from 0.073 to 43.65 fmol/10 μg(RNA) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.03 fmol/10 μg(RNA), whereas the luminescence intensity ranged from 0.16 to 43.65 fmol/10 μg(RNA) with a LOD of 0.12 fmol/10 μg(RNA). These data indicate that the CD signal is much more sensitive to the concentration of miRNA than the luminescent signal, which is attributed to the strong CD intensity arising from the spin angular momentum of the photon interaction with chiral nanostructures and the plasmonic enhancement of the intrinsic chirality of DNA molecules in the pyramids. This approach opens up a new avenue to the ultrasensitive detection and quantification of miRNA in living cells.

Dual-Mode Ultrasensitive Quantification of MicroRNA in Living Cells by Chiroplasmonic Nanopyramids Self-Assembled from Gold and Upconversion Nanoparticles

1.1. Cancer and Early Detection
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, trailing only heart disease in incidence. Despite significant worldwide investment in research, cancer remains responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in developed countries.1 Globally, over 14 million cancer diagnoses were reported in 2012, a figure expected to increase to over 22 million cases per annum in the next two decades.2 Estimated to kill over 1/2 million U.S. citizens, and with over 1.6 million new cases predicted to be diagnosed this year,3 cancer continues to present a major, yet unmet challenge to healthcare both globally and in the United States.

Cancer emerges from our own tissues, complicating both detection and treatment methods due to the similarities between the diseased tissue and healthy tissue.4,5 Despite this fact, the mortality rate from cancer is often greatly reduced by early detection of the disease. For example, non-small-cell lung cancer is responsible for the most cancer related deaths worldwide, with patients in the advanced stages of the disease having only 5–15% and <2% 5-year survival rates for stage III and IV patients, respectively.6 In contrast, patients who start therapy in the early stages of the disease (stage I) have markedly improved survival rates, with an 80% overall 5-year survival rate.6 Consequently, early diagnosis is essential to improving cancer patient prognosis.

At present, clinical detection of cancer primarily relies on imaging techniques or the morphological analysis of cells that are suspected to be diseased (cytology) or tissues (histopathology). Imaging techniques applied to cancer detection, including X-ray, mammography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopy, and ultrasound, have low sensitivity and are limited in their ability to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions.7,8 While cytology, such as testing for cervical cancer via a Pap smear or occult blood detection, may be used to distinguish between healthy and diseased cells or tissues, it is not effective at detecting cancer at early stages. Similarly, histopathology, which generally relies on taking a biopsy of a suspected tumor, is typically used to probe the malignancy of tissues that are identified through alternative imaging techniques, such as CT or MRI, and may not be used alone to detect cancer in its early stages. As such, the development of assays and methods for early detection of cancer, before the disease becomes symptomatic, presents a major challenge.

Recent research within the field of nanotechnology has focused on addressing the limitations of the currently available methods for cancer diagnosis. Certain nanoparticle probes possess several unique properties that are advantageous for use in the detection of cancer at the early stages. In this review, we will discuss the advances in the development of nanoparticle-based methods for the detection of cancer by fluorescence spectroscopy. We will divide this topic into three categories: techniques that are designed for (1) the detection of extracellular cancer biomarkers, (2) the detection of cancer cells, and (3) the detection of cancerous tissues in vivo. We will discuss these strategies within the context of the nanoparticle probe used as well as the recognition moieties applied in each approach. Ultimately, the translation of these methods from the laboratory to the clinic may enable earlier detection of cancer and could extend patient survival through the ability to administer therapeutic treatment in the early stages of the disease.

While this review provides a comprehensive overview of the nanoparticle probes that are used to detect cancer in vitro and in vivo through fluorescence, there are several other relevant reviews that may be of interest to our readers, who may refer to the references for more generalized reviews of nanomaterials used for diagnostics and therapy,9–12 or more detailed insight into the specific types of nanoparticle probes (i.e., quantum dots,13 gold nanoparticles,14,15 upconversion nanoparticles,16 polymer dots,17,18 silica nanoparticles,19 polymeric nanoparticles, 20 etc.) for cancer diagnosis.

Nanoparticle Probes for the Detection of Cancer Biomarkers, Cells, and Tissues by Fluorescence

Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs) are a class of nanomaterials with a structure defined by a radial distribution of densely packed, short DNA or RNA sequences around a nanoparticle core. This structure allows SNAs to rapidly enter mammalian cells, protects the displayed oligonucleotides from nuclease degradation, and enables co-delivery of other drug cargoes. Here, we investigate the biodistribution of liposomal spherical nucleic acid (LSNA) conjugates, SNA architectures formed from liposome templates and DNA modified with hydrophobic end groups (tails). We compared linear DNA with two types of LSNAs that differ only by the affinity of the modified DNA sequence for the liposome template. We use single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) terminated with either a low-affinity cholesterol tail (CHOL-LSNA) or a high-affinity diacylglycerol lipid tail (DPPE-LSNA). Both LSNA formulations, independent of DNA conjugation, reduce the inflammatory cytokine response to intravenously administered DNA. The difference in the affinity for the liposome template significantly affects DNA biodistribution. DNA from CHOL-LSNAs accumulates in greater amounts in the lungs than DNA from DPPE-LSNAs. In contrast, DNA from DPPE-LSNAs exhibits greater accumulation in the kidneys. Flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy of tissue sections indicate that different cell populations-immune and nonimmune-sequester the DNA depending upon the chemical makeup of the LSNA. Taken together, these data suggest that the chemical structure of the LSNAs represents an opportunity to direct the biodistribution of nucleic acids to major tissues outside of the liver.

/pdf/structure-dependent-biodistribution-of-liposomal-spherical-2hkk5btg96.pdf

Structure-Dependent Biodistribution of Liposomal Spherical Nucleic Acids.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.6b00483

Relationships between Poly(ethylene glycol) Modifications on RNA-Spherical Nucleic Acid Conjugates and Cellular Uptake and Circulation Time

Dual Toll-Like Receptor Targeting Liposomal Spherical Nucleic Acids.

The current standard of care for end stage liver disease is orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Through improvement in surgical techniques, immunosuppression, and general medical care, liver transplantation has become an effective treatment over the course of the last half-century. Unfortunately, due to the limited availability of donor organs, there is a finite limit to the number of patients who will benefit from this therapy. This review will discuss current research in experimental cellular therapies for acute, chronic, and metabolic liver failure that may be appropriate when liver transplantation is not an immediate option.

/pdf/new-tools-in-experimental-cellular-therapy-for-the-treatment-10zzvr3p6v.pdf

Jennifer R. Ferrer

Papers

Nanoparticle Probes for the Detection of Cancer Biomarkers, Cells, and Tissues by Fluorescence

Structure-Dependent Biodistribution of Liposomal Spherical Nucleic Acids.

Relationships between Poly(ethylene glycol) Modifications on RNA-Spherical Nucleic Acid Conjugates and Cellular Uptake and Circulation Time

Dual Toll-Like Receptor Targeting Liposomal Spherical Nucleic Acids.

New Tools in Experimental Cellular Therapy for the Treatment of Liver Diseases