Biofluid Samples Research Articles

Multi-biofluid metabolomics analysis of allergic respiratory rhinitis and asthma in early childhood.

Childhood rhinitis and asthma are allergic respiratory diseases triggered by common allergens, but they affect different parts of the respiratory system, leading to distinct symptoms. However, a comprehensive multi-biofluid metabolomics-based approach to uncover valuable insights into childhood allergies and allergen sensitization remains unaddressed. Seventy-six children, comprising 26 with rhinitis, 26 with asthma, and 24 healthy controls, were enrolled. Fecal, blood, and urine metabolomic analyses using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were conducted. An integrative analysis of their associations with allergen-specific IgE levels in the context of allergic rhinitis and asthma were also assessed. The analysis of 228 various biofluid samples revealed strong positive correlations between stool and blood metabolites, while blood metabolites exhibited negative correlations with most urine metabolites. Five and 19 metabolites were significantly different in children with rhinitis and asthma, respectively (P<0.05). Among them, blood isovaleric acid correlated positively with stool IgE levels in rhinitis, while stool butyric acid and acetic acid in asthma exhibited strong negative correlations with total serum and mite allergen-specific IgE levels (P<0.01). Blood metabolic profiles appeared to have the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.732 for rhinitis, whereas stool metabolic profiles had the highest AUC of 0.799 for asthma. Multiple biofluid metabolomics provides comprehensive insights into childhood allergies, with blood profiles associated with allergic rhinitis and fecal profiles linked to asthma. Their short-chain fatty acid metabolites related to IgE levels emphasize the significant role of the gut microbiota in childhood rhinitis and asthma.

Overview of Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and future clinical trials.

The overall goal of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is to optimize and validate biomarkers for clinical trials while sharing all data and biofluid samples with the global scientific community. ADNI has been instrumental in standardizing and validating amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. ADNI data were used for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Fujirebio and Roche Elecsys cerebrospinal fluid diagnostic tests. Additionally, ADNI provided data for the trials of the FDA-approved treatments aducanumab, lecanemab, and donanemab. More than 6000 scientific papers have been published using ADNI data, reflecting ADNI's promotion of open science and data sharing. Despite its enormous success, ADNI has some limitations, particularly in generalizing its data and findings to the entire US/Canadian population. This introduction provides a historical overview of ADNI and highlights its significant accomplishments and future vision to pioneer "the clinical trial of the future" focusing on demographic inclusivity. HIGHLIGHTS: The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) introduced a novel model for public-private partnerships and data sharing. It successfully validated amyloid and Tau PET imaging, as well as CSF and plasma biomarkers, for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease. ADNI generated and disseminated vital data for designing AD clinical trials.

A systematic review of biofluid phosphorylated α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, and biomarkers are needed to enhance earlier detection and monitoring. Alpha-synuclein, phosphorylated at serine 129 (pS129-α-syn), is the predominant form of α-syn found in Lewy bodies implicating an involvement in disease pathology. This review aims to systematically evaluate the evidence for pS129-α-syn detection in human biofluid samples of PD utilizing ELISA-based protein detection methods. A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reported Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Electronic searches were performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases from inception to November 7th, 2024, to identify studies comparing pS129-α-syn in biofluids of PD patients with controls or related neurodegenerative disease. Risk of bias was assessed for each study. Twenty-three publications met the inclusion criteria, with pS129-α-syn detected in cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, red blood cells, serum, and saliva exosomes. Overall, pS129-α-syn levels were elevated in patients with PD compared to controls, and in some studies, correlated with disease severity. There was no consistent pattern when comparing PD patients to those with related neurodegenerative diseases. Significant variability in pS129-α-syn levels and considerable overlap between groups may limit the utility as a biomarker. While pS129-α-syn for PD shows some promise as a diagnostic marker for PD, its differential diagnostic utility remains limited. Further research involving larger cohorts is required. The greatest potential for pS129-α-syn may be as part of a panel with other PD-specific markers, to enhance diagnostic accuracy and prognostic value.

Engineered Conductive Metal-organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Detection of Urinary Biomarkers.

The increasing prevalence of health concerns has sparked a demand for advanced health monitoring tools, which is a significant challenge for researchers. Analysis of biofluid samples and biomarker monitoring is vital for comprehensive health assessment. In this context, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as one of the leading materials for developing cutting-edge artificial sensors. These unique MOFs have been developed from metallic and organic linkers and consist of tunable pores and dynamic surface areas, attracting various guest molecules to participate in developing advanced electrochemical devices. This study is a gateway to a world where MOF designs transcend mere inventions, morphing into electric marvels that revolutionize urine sample monitoring. From the inception and design to the fabrication of MOF sensors tailored for electrochemical applications, this study prides itself on elucidating the factors affecting MOF-based electrical devices and sensors. Moreover, the focus is placed on conductivity, electrode properties, and recent state-of-the-art urine sample analysis, highlighting the pivotal role biomarkers play in honing the resilience and performance of the sensors. Finally, this study is specific to electrochemical sensors used for urine analysis. It will attract researchers to develop new portable tools for health monitoring by analyzing urine samples.

Development of an Activity-Based Ratiometric Electrochemical Switch for Direct, Real-Time Sensing of Pantetheinase in Live Cells, Blood, and Urine Samples.

Pantetheinase is a key biomarker for the diagnosis of acute kidney injury and the monitoring of malaria progression. Currently, existing methods for sensing pantetheinase, also known as Vanin-1, show considerable potential but come with certain limitations, including their inability to directly sense analytes in turbid biofluid samples without tedious sample pretreatment. Here, we describe the first activity-based electrochemical probe, termed VaninLP, for convenient and specific direct targeting of pantetheinase activity in turbid liquid biopsy samples. The probe was designed such that cleavage of the pantetheinase amide linkage, triggered by a self-immolative reaction, simultaneously ejects an amino ferrocene reporter. Among the distinctive properties of the VaninLP probe for sensing pantetheinase are its high selectivity, sensitivity, and enzyme affinity, a wide linear concentration range (8-300 ng/mL), and low limit of detection (2.47 ng/mL). The designed probe precisely targeted pantetheinase and was free of interference by other electroactive biological species. We further successfully applied the VaninLP probe to monitor and quantify the activity of pantetheinase on the surfaces of HepG2 tumor cells, blood, and urine samples. Collectively, our findings indicate that VaninLP holds significant promise as a point-of-care tool for diagnosing early-stage kidney injury, as well as monitoring the progression of malaria.

Greener analysis of eleven basic drugs in blood and urine using carbowax 20M based biofluid sampler (BFS) device

For the first time, a novel biofluid sampler (BFS) and sample preparation device is applied for the analysis of 11 basic drugs (i.e., pheniramine, chlorpheniramine, fluoxetine, tramadol, amitriptyline, ketamine, diazepam, chlordiazepoxide, clozapine, chlorpromazine, dothiepin) in biological matrices (i.e., blood and urine). BFS utilizes advanced, highly effective sorbents derived from sol-gel sorbent coating technology onto cellulose fabric substrate, improving sample collection and retention. BFS has the capability to retain a biological sample from 10 to 1000 µL without requiring any dilution or pre-treatment of the sample. The biological samples were pipetted onto the BFS device and dried at room temperature. Subsequently, adsorbed analytes were back-extracted into 1000 µL of methanol without requiring any imposed external diffusion process and then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) screening procedure was used to extensively screen and optimize several parameters, including sample volume, elution time, solvent volume, and solvent type. Under the optimal conditions of the study, the method was found to be linear within the range 0.1–10 µg mL−1 for both blood and urine. Quantification limits were established for blood samples within the range of 0.072–0.095 μg mL−1 and for urine samples within the range of 0.050–0.069 μg mL−1. The precisions within and between days were less than 7% and 10%, respectively. The target analytes showed good recoveries utilizing the recommended protocol, with ranges of 45.1%–103.4%. Furthermore, the methodology has been effectively implemented in forensic toxicology case work. Moreover, the green characteristics and applicability of the suggested methodology was evaluated using softwares i.e., AGREE and BAGI.

Microbore-based vacuum jacketed liquid chromatography for fast, efficient and sustainable high throughput bioanalysis

Extra-column band broadening can significantly reduce the performance of rapid ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-MS-based methods (UHPLC-MS). However, as we show here, UHPLC-MS/MS methods on short 2.1 mm i.d. columns can be optimized to reduce band broadening by simple procedures such as dispensing with the solvent divert valves placed between the column and the MS source. Vacuum jacketed columns have previously been shown to provide superior performance to conventional UHPLC-MS/MS by reducing on and post column band broadening. Here we have compared the optimized “direct” UHPLC approach for the high throughput (HT) bioanalysis of drugs and metabolites in biofluids such as urine and blood plasma with vacuum jacketed chromatography (VJC), using columns of the same geometry and packed with the same stationary phases. This study demonstrates that the performance of VJC was still superior to the direct UHPLC-MS/MS methods for rapid “generic” bioanalysis using gradient times of 0.25 to 5 min. Further investigations using microbore VJC-MS/MS, with 1 mm i.d. columns, for bioanalysis of the same biofluid samples showed that this format offers great promise for HT “discovery” drug and metabolite analysis/profiling. In addition the reduction of solvent use, by up to 90 % for methods when using microbore columns, can significantly contribute to improved sustainability and reducing costs per analysis.

Advances in Extracellular-Vesicles-Based Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches for Ocular Diseases.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale membrane vesicles of various sizes that can be secreted by most cells. EVs contain a diverse array of cargo, including RNAs, lipids, proteins, and other molecules with functions of intercellular communication, immune modulation, and regulation of physiological and pathological processes. The biofluids in the eye, including tears, aqueous humor, and vitreous humor, are important sources for EV-based diagnosis of ocular disease. Because the molecular cargos may reflect the biology of their parental cells, EVs in these biofluids, as well as in the blood, have been recognized as promising candidates as biomarkers for early diagnosis of ocular disease. Moreover, EVs have also been used as therapeutics and targeted drug delivery nanocarriers in many ocular disorders because of their low immunogenicity and superior biocompatibility in nature. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advances in the field of EV-based studies on the diagnosis and therapeutics of ocular disease. We summarized the origins of EVs applied in ocular disease, assessed different methods for EV isolation from ocular biofluid samples, highlighted bioengineering strategies of EVs as drug delivery systems, introduced the latest applications in the diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease, and presented their potential in the current clinical trials. Finally, we briefly discussed the challenges of EV-based studies in ocular disease and some issues of concern for better focusing on clinical translational studies of EVs in the future.

(Invited) Analytical Validation of Aptamer-Based Blood Drug Measurements Against Clinical Benchmark Methods

The practice of monitoring therapeutic drug concentrations in patient biofluids can significantly improve clinical outcomes while simultaneously minimizing adverse side effects. Although undeniably important to achieve effectiveness, therapeutic drug monitoring remains inconvenient in practice, due primarily to the lengthy process of sample collection, transport to a centralized facility, and analysis using costly instrumentation. Adding to this workflow is the possibility of backlogs at centralized clinical laboratories, which is not uncommon and may result in additional delays between biofluid sampling and concentration measurement, which can negatively affect clinical outcomes. In this talk I explore the possibility of using point-of-care, aptamer-based sensors to minimize the time delay between biofluid sampling and drug measurement. I will discuss analytical validations of aptamer-based blood measurements for two drugs, the antibiotic vancomycin and the antiretroviral drug emtricitabine. We conducted clinical agreement studies comparing the measurement outcomes of electrochemical and optical aptamer-based sensors to the benchmark (1) automated competitive immunoassays for vancomycin monitoring in serum, and (2) liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection (LC-MS) for plasma emtricitabine. Our results demonstrate that aptamer-based sensors are selective for the free form of these drugs, and can achieve up to 95% positive correlation and 100% negative correlation with the benchmark assays. Given these results, aptamer sensors offer a promising path for point-of-care drug monitoring that is instantaneous and overcomes current barriers for broad implementation of drug monitoring in clinical settings.

In vivo detection of Alzheimer's and Lewy body disease concurrence: Clinical implications and future perspectives.

The recent introduction of seed amplification assays (SAAs) detecting misfolded α-synuclein, a pathology-specific marker for Lewy body disease (LBD), has allowed the in vivo identification and phenotypic characterization of patients with co-occurring Alzheimer's disease (AD) and LBD since the early clinical or even preclinical stage. We reviewed studies with an in vivo biomarker-based diagnosis of AD-LBD copathology. Studies in large cohorts of cognitively impaired individuals have shown that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers detect the coexistence of AD and LB pathology in approximately 20%-25% of them, independently of the primary clinical diagnosis. Compared to those with pure AD, AD-LBD patients showed worse global cognition, especially in attentive/executive and visuospatial functions, and worse motor functions. In cognitively unimpaired individuals, concurrent AD-LBD pathologies predicted longitudinal cognitive progression with faster worsening of global cognition, memory, and attentive/executive functions. Future research studies aiming for a better precision medicine approach should develop SAAs further to reach a quantitative evaluation or staging of each underlying pathology using a single biofluid sample. α-Synuclein seed amplification assays (SAAs) provide a specific marker for Lewy body disease (LBD). SAAs allow for the in vivo identification of co-occurring LBD in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD-LBD coexist in 20-25% of cognitively impaired elderly individuals, and ∼8% of those asymptomatic. Compared to pure AD, AD-LBD causes a faster worsening of cognitive functions. AD-LBD is associated with worse attentive/executive, memory, visuospatial and motor functions.

The surface modification of the silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles and their application in molecular diagnostics of virus infection

The study presents a series of examples of magnetic nanoparticle systems designed for the diagnosis of viral diseases. In this interdisciplinary work, we describe one of the most comprehensive synthetic approaches for the preparation and functionalization of smart nanoparticle systems for rapid and effective RT-PCR diagnostics and isolation of viral RNA. Twelve different organic ligands and inorganic porous silica were used for surface functionalization of the Fe3O4 magnetic core to increase the number of active centres for efficient RNA binding from human swab samples. Different nanoparticle systems with common beads were characterized by HRTEM, SEM, FT-IR, XRD, XPS and magnetic measurements. We demonstrate the application of the fundamental models modified to fit the experimental zero-field cooling magnetization data. We discuss the influence of the nanoparticle shell parameters (morphology, thickness, ligands) on the overall magnetic performance of the systems. The prepared nanoparticles were tested for the isolation of viral RNA from tissue samples infected with hepatitis E virus—HEV and from biofluid samples of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. The efficiency of RNA isolation was quantified by RT-qPCR method.

Dietary and homeostatic controls of Zn isotopes in rats: a controlled feeding experiment and modeling approach.

The stable isotope composition of zinc (δ66Zn), which is an essential trace metal for many biological processes in vertebrates, is increasingly used in ecological, archeological, and paleontological studies to assess diet and trophic level discrimination among vertebrates. However, the limited understanding of dietary controls and isotopic fractionation processes on Zn isotope variability in animal tissues and biofluids limits precise dietary reconstructions. The current study systematically investigates the dietary effects on Zn isotope composition in consumers using a combined controlled feeding experiment and box-modeling approach. For this purpose, 21 rats were fed one of seven distinct animal- and plant-based diets and a total of 148 samples including soft and hard tissue, biofluid, and excreta samples of these individuals were measured for δ66Zn. Relatively constant Zn isotope fractionation is observed across the different dietary groups for each tissue type, implying that diet is the main factor controlling consumer tissue δ66Zn values, independent of diet composition. Furthermore, a systematic δ66Zn diet-enamel fractionation is reported for the first time, enabling diet reconstruction based on δ66Zn values from tooth enamel. In addition, we investigated the dynamics of Zn isotope variability in the body using a box-modeling approach, providing a model of Zn isotope homeostasis and inferring residence times, while also further supporting the hypothesis that δ66Zn values of vertebrate tissues are primarily determined by that of the diet. Altogether this provides a solid foundation for refined (paleo)dietary reconstruction using Zn isotopes of vertebrate tissues.

When surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy meets complex biofluids: A new representation strategy for reliable and comprehensive characterization

BackgroundSurface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has gained increasing importance in molecular detection due to its high specificity and sensitivity. Complex biofluids (e.g., cell lysates and serums) typically contain large numbers of different bio-molecules with various concentrations, making it extremely challenging to be reliably and comprehensively characterized via conventional single SERS spectra due to uncontrollable electromagnetic hot spots and irregular molecular motions. The traditional approach of directly reading out the single SERS spectra or calculating the average of multiple spectra is less likely to take advantage of the full information of complex biofluid systems. ResultsHerein, we propose to construct a spectral set with unordered multiple SERS spectra as a novel representation strategy to characterize full molecular information of complex biofluids. This new SERS representation not only contains details from each single spectra but captures the temporal/spatial distribution characteristics. To address the ordering-independent property of traditional chemometric methods (e.g., the Euclidean distance and the Pearson correlation coefficient), we introduce Wasserstein distance (WD) to quantitatively and comprehensively assess the quality of spectral sets on biofluids. WD performs its superiority for the quantitative assessment of the spectral sets. Additionally, WD benefits from its independence of the ordering of spectra in a spectral set, which is undesirable for traditional chemometric methods. With experiments on cell lysates and human serums, we successfully achieve the verification for the reproducibility between parallel samples, the uniformity at different positions in the same sample, the repeatability from multiple tests at one location of the same sample, and the cardinality effect of the spectral set. SERS spectral sets also manage to distinguish different classes of human serums and achieve higher accuracy than the traditional prostate-specific antigen in prostate cancer classification. SignificanceThe proposed SERS spectral set is a robust representation approach in accessing full information of biological samples compared to relying on a single or averaged spectra in terms of reproducibility, uniformity, repeatability, and cardinality effect. The application of WD further demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of spectral sets in characterizing complex biofluid samples, which extends and consolidates the role of SERS.

In-Depth Endogenous Phosphopeptidomics of Serum with Zirconium(IV)-Grafted Mesoporous Silica Enrichment.

Detection of endogenous peptides, especially those with modifications (such as phosphorylation) in biofluids, can serve as an indicator of intracellular pathophysiology. Although great progress has been made in phosphoproteomics in recent years, endogenous phosphopeptidomics has largely lagged behind. One main hurdle in endogenous phosphopeptidomics analysis is the coexistence of proteins and highly abundant nonmodified peptides in complex matrices. In this study, we developed an approach using zirconium(IV)-grafted mesoporous beads to enrich phosphopeptides, followed by analysis with a high resolution nanoRPLC-MS/MS system. The bifunctional material was first tested with digests of standard phosphoproteins and HeLa cell lysates, with excellent enrichment performance achieved. Given the size exclusion nature, the beads were directly applied for endogenous phosphopeptidomic analysis of serum samples from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients and controls. In total, 329 endogenous phosphopeptides (containing 113 high confidence sites) were identified across samples, by far the largest endogenous phosphopeptide data set cataloged to date. In addition, the method was readily applied for phosphoproteomics of the same set of samples, with 172 phosphopeptides identified and significant changes in dozens of phosphopeptides observed. Given the simplicity and robustness of the proposed method, we envision that it can be readily used for comprehensive phosphorylation studies of serum and other biofluid samples.

Fabrication of two-dimensional fluorescent stanene oxide nanosheets for the detection of cortisone in biofluids

The current work provides a new approach for the fabrication of two-dimensional blue fluorescent guanidine acetic acid templated stanene oxide nanosheets (GAA-SnO2 NSs) for selective determination of cortisone. The GAA-SnO2 NSs displayed blue fluorescence with a quantum yield of 21.16 %. Under excitation wavelength of 370 nm, the GAA-SnO2 NSs responded to cortisone by exhibiting noticeably decrease in the emission peak at 454 nm. The introduction of cortisone to GAA-SnO2 NSs significantly altered fluorescence emission, leading to achieve desirable linear relationship between the intensity ratio (I0/I) and the concentration (0.5–10 μM). The detection limit was found to be 41.74 nM for cortisone. The GAA-SnO2 NSs were decorated on paper for the development of embedded analytical probe for cortisone detection. Furthermore, the method was successfully demonstrated to assay cortisone in biofluid (plasma and urine) samples with good recoveries.

Developing a binary composite of covalent organic framework and gold microstructures: Highly efficient dual-mode catalyst for analysis of nitrophenol isomers and their oxidative products

As a key hazard, nitrophenol and its byproducts are a vital raw material in the industry and potentially released into aquatic environments, which affects the ecosystem and severely threatens living systems. It is crucial to detect nitro-hazards quantitatively and systematically. The unique structures of isomer separation and catalytic reduction are highly complex in a single system, not yet reported detection method. The present report constructed robust gold-microstructures (AuMSs) with bis-triazole-derived covalent organic framework (BTCOF) was developed to analyze the dual-mode application of electrochemical redox signals and catalytic degradation of nitrophenol isomers (NPIs) and their oxidative products. The synergistic interaction of tunable surfaces on binary materials enhanced catalytic efficiency, faster kinetic rates, and poor passivation effect. Based on the variance in pKa values, both NPIs and nitrosophenols (NSPIs) could be identified, peak separated, and sensed simultaneously. A catalyst combined with NaBH4, enabled NPIs reduction within 10 minutes. This proposed electrochemical method achieved a nanomolar LOD (1.82, 1.67, and 1.15 × 10−9 M for o-, m-, and p-NPs), excellent sensitivity to ultrawide linear range concentrations while being selective, and reproducible. Moreover, AuMSs-BTCOF/GCE detected NPIs in the industrial effluents and biofluids with recovery rates between 94.70 to 99.95 ± 0.18 % with RSD of 2.86 %. The electrochemical result was validated by conventional method with proven statistical analysis (error 4.02 %). In the catalytic reduction of NPIs, the catalyst is more than 89.24 % efficient, and durable stability. The designed system has proven to be an effective, sensitive, and accurate dual-detection tool for monitoring environmental targets and diagnosing diseases.

Smartphone-assimilated colorimetric sensor for sub-nanomolar emamectin detection via KA30 capped silver nanoparticles in food, bio-fluids and water samples

In this report, we firstly synthesized nitro calix [4] resorcinarene compound (referred as KA30) and characterized it though proton (1H) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. KA30 was applied as functionalizing agent for the formation of silver nanoparticles (KA30-AgNPs). These NPs were confirmed as highly selective and extremely sensitive colorimetric sensor for ultra-low level detection of emamectin (EMA) as a novel report. Significant aspect of the sensor is its unique detection range between 0.0005 and 29.5 μM via color change from yellow to colorless with hypochromic-bathochromic shift exhibiting limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) as 0.12 nM and 0.4 nM respectively. The sensor was applied to colorimetrically and optically detect EMA in real samples of serum, urine and food. The sensor was further allied with smartphone for real-time, and on-site detection of EMA and results were validated through UPLC.

An emerging tool in healthcare: wearable surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

This perspective explores the progressive domain of wearable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), underscoring its potential to revolutionize healthcare. As an advanced variation of traditional Raman spectroscopy, SERS offers heightened sensitivity in detecting molecular vibrations. Applied in wearable technology, it provides a mechanism for continuous, non-invasive, real-time monitoring of chemical and biomolecular processes in the human body through biofluids such as sweat and tears. This underscores its immense potential in enabling early disease detection and facilitating personalized medicine. However, the adoption of wearable SERS is not without challenges, which include device miniaturization, reliable biofluid sampling, user comfort, biocompatibility, and data interpretation. Nevertheless, this perspective emphasizes that the fast-paced advancements in nanotechnology and data sciences render these challenges surmountable. In summary, the perspective presents wearable SERS as a promising innovation in healthcare’s future landscape. It has the potential to enhance individual health outcomes significantly and lower healthcare costs by promoting a preventive health management approach.

MOLECULAR DETECTION PROTOCOL OF SARS-COV-2 THROUGH SELF-COLLECTED SALIVA SPECIMENS VERSUS NASOPHARYNGEAL SWABS.

Several reports have shown that saliva specimen is an excellent alternative biofluid sample for SARS-CoV-2 detection. We conducted this study, in order to assess the sensitivity and specificity of using saliva self-collected by adult and pediatric patients, as a biological sample for RT-PCR diagnosis. The present study was carried out to assess the sensitivity and specificity of using saliva self-collected from adult and pediatric patients, as a biological sample for RT-qPCR diagnosis. In this study, 50 symptomatic patients and 40 asymptomatic subjects (adult and pediatric) were enrolled between September 2020 and November 2020 at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Bejaia University Hospital (CHU), and tested simultaneously for the sensitivity and specificity of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome by RT-PCR on both nasopharyngeal swabs NP swab and saliva samples. Our RT-qPCR results revealed that saliva samples showed the highest sensitivity (95% CI [27.67, 29.82]) followed by a nasopharyngeal swab for symptomatic (95% CI [29.64, 31.49]) as well as for asymptomatic adult patients. Moreover, the saliva of symptomatic and asymptomatic patients was monitored, and the presence of viral RNA was detected in >95% of the asymptomatic patients as well as the symptomatic patients. Surprisingly, the Ct values of ORF1ab and N genes are highly lower in nasopharyngeal swabs compared to saliva. Indeed, the mean difference note that for the ORF1ab gene and N gene, the mean of difference in ΔCt value were respectively 3.683 and 3.578. Together, including symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects, the overall agreement between the saliva sample and the nasopharyngeal is about 84%. The sensitivity of saliva samples remains acceptable; it may still be a viable option in locations where laboratory facilities are lacking for diagnostic purposes in the early phase of the disease.

Fluorescence 'turn-off-on' assays for neomycin sulphate and K+ ions with orange-red fluorescent molybdenum nanoclusters.

Fluorescent metal nanoclusters (MNCs) have found extensive application in recognizing molecular species. Here, orange-red fluorescent Arg-A. paniculata-MoNCs were synthesized using Andrographis paniculata leaf extract, arginine as a ligand, and MoCl5 as a metal precursor. The Arg-A. paniculata-MoNCs complex exhibited a quantum yield (QY) of 16.91% and excitation/emission wavelengths of 400/665 nm. The synthesized Arg-A. paniculata-MoNCs successfully acted as a probe for assaying neomycin sulphate (NS) via fluorescence turn-off and K+ ions via fluorescence turn-on mechanisms, respectively. Moreover, the developed probe was effectively used to develop a cellulose paper strip-based sensor for detection of NS and K+ ions. Arg-A. paniculata-MoNCs demonstrated great potential for sensing NS and K+ ions, with concentration ranges of 0.1-80 and 0.25-110 μM for NS and K+ ions, respectively. The as-synthesized Arg-A. paniculata-MoNCs efficiently detected NS and K+ ions in food and biofluid samples, respectively.