In recent years, the development of nanostructured systems, particularly in medicine and cosmetics, has expanded considerably. As the utilization of these technologies expands, there has been a growing discourse about their potential implications for human health and environmental safety. To address these issues while adhering to the 3Rs principle, alternative toxicological models have been explored in the early stages of nanocarrier development. Among these, Allium cepa has been extensively used to assess cytotoxic, genotoxic, and ecotoxicological effects. This scoping review mapped and analyzed 35 studies retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, following the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodological guidelines and reported according to PRISMA-ScR. Most studies were published in 2024 (6/35) and 2023 (6/35), mainly from India (12/35) and Brazil (7/35). Inorganic nanocarriers, predominantly metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, accounted for 26/35 studies, while organic carriers, including lipidic, polymeric, and biomolecule-based systems, represented 9/35. Approximately half of the studies used a positive control group (17/35), and the standard exposure duration was generally 24h (17/35). The Allium cepa assay demonstrates high sensitivity and reproducibility in detecting mitotic disruptions, chromosomal anomalies, and indicators of oxidative stress. Overall, inorganic nanocarriers induced more frequent cytogenotoxic and oxidative effects, while organic systems showed milder responses, often linked to higher biocompatibility and stability limitations. The findings reinforce Allium cepa as a reliable, ethical, and low-cost bioindicator for early nanotoxicological screening. However, significant methodological variability across studies underscores the need to standardize protocols and incorporate molecular endpoints to enhance the predictive and translational capabilities of this alternative nanotoxicology model.

A state-of-the-art review of antibacterial activity of non-toxic ionic liquids: Challenges, alternatives and outlook.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) show great therapeutic potential due to their unique mechanism of action that guarantees broad-spectrum efficacy and limits bacterial antibiotic resistance. However, challenges such as limited stability and cytotoxicity toward host cells still limit their clinical translation, highlighting the need for new approaches, such as size reduction and lipid conjugation, to enhance their efficacy, cell penetration, stability, and safety. Herein, we report the de novo design of a library of ultra-short lipopeptides based on a rigid l-Arg-l-Pro-l-Arg core, conceived to control conformational restriction and amphiphilic organization rather than mimicking longer natural AMPs. The compounds were synthesized and preliminarily evaluated in vitro against 3 Gram-negative and 3 Gram-positive strains. Systematic modulation of lipid positioning and linker orientation in this minimal scaffold led to the identification of promising candidates displaying MIC values in the low-μM range against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. Of the newly developed compounds, 15 exhibited optimal lipophilicity, excellent human-serum stability and a favourable safety profile, showing only low to moderate toxicity toward renal, hepatic, and red blood cells. Additionally, 15 proved effective in reducing S. aureus biofilm formation and showed strong activity against five clinical isolates. It acts as a bacteriostatic agent by perturbing bacterial membrane integrity, positioning it as a promising starting point for the development of a new class of chemotypes that could offer an alternative strategy for treating infections caused by this gram-positive pathogen.

Development and validation of an LC-MS/MS assay for serum 5α-androstane-3α, 17β-diol 17-glucuronide with enhanced interference resolution.

Recent advances in the catalytic removal of gaseous methyl mercaptan.

Electric field drives assimilation enhancement and deterministic assembly in algae-bacteria symbiosis for enhanced aniline biodegradation.

In-vitro assessment of thermal stability, color stability, degree of conversion, nanozeolite and monomer release, and antibacterial effect in nanozeolite-filled 3D printed denture base resin.

Biktarvy is an effective antiviral drug for patients with HIV. However, owing to its long-term use and poor patient adherence, sustained and effective Biktarvy treatment is consistently limited by insufficient in vivo drug concentrations. Liquid chromatography (LC)-tandem mass spectrometry-based therapeutic drug monitoring is a common tool for identifying inadequate dosages and preventing antiviral failure. However, this tool requires expensive instruments and reagents, which is a major limitation in resource-limited regions. A simple and economical liquid chromatography-ultraviolet method was established and validated for simultaneous quantification of Biktarvy-derived bictegravir (BIC) and emtricitabine (FTC) in human plasma. The samples were pretreated through protein precipitation with acetonitrile, and chromatographic separation was performed on a C18 analytical column with gradient elution at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The total runtime for each sample was 15.0 minutes. The method exhibited good linearity within the range of 0.5-20.0 mcg/mL for both BIC and FTC. The selectivity, lower limit of quantification, specificity, precision, accuracy, recovery, stability, and dilution integrity were validated, and all satisfied the requirements of the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use: Bioanalytical method validation and study sample analysis (2022 edition) and the Chinese Pharmacopoeia for bioanalytical method validation (2015 edition). Furthermore, the method exhibited satisfactory performance, with BIC and FTC concentrations ranging between 0.80 and 6.99 mcg/mL and 0.53-4.57 mcg/mL, respectively. A simple and economical liquid chromatography-ultraviolet method was successfully developed for simultaneous quantification of BIC and FTC in human plasma. This method can be extensively used in therapeutic drug monitoring, as in the case of MS-based instrumental deficiency or damage, and in pharmacokinetic studies.

COVID-19 in Latin America: Clinical and immunological insights, vaccine development, and lessons for pandemic preparedness.

Membrane aerated biofilm reactors for sustainable nitrogen management: Mechanisms, process integration, and engineering implications.

Antarctic sea anemones are dominant benthic predators, yet their molecular adaptive strategies to polar environments remain poorly understood. Urticinopsis antarctica is one of the most abundant Antarctic actiniarians, but until now it has lacked any integrated molecular characterisation This study provides the first comprehensive analysis combining de novo transcriptomics with histological and cytological observations to investigate immune and stress-response mechanisms in this azooxanthellate anthozoan. Gene Ontology and Pfam-based analyses revealed a broad and evolutionarily conserved innate immune repertoire, including Toll-like receptor, NF-κB, JAK-STAT and NOD-like receptor pathways, together with numerous transcripts of pattern-recognition domains such as TIR, NACHT, LRR and C-type lectins. Integration with signal peptide prediction demonstrated a significant enrichment of immune- and stress-related genes within the secretome, indicating a strong bias toward extracellular defence strategies. Histological analyses revealed a typical a diploblastic organization with abundant cnidocytes, mucous cells and migratory amoeboid cells, consistent with an epithelial-centred immune system. The absence of algal symbionts was confirmed at both molecular and tissue levels. Together, these findings indicate that U. antarctica maintains a complex, flexible immune and stress-response architecture despite extreme thermal stability and resource limitation. This new molecular and cellular baseline establishes U. antarctica as a valuable reference for understanding resilience, cold adaptation, and the evolution of immunity in polar anthozoans, and provides a foundation for future functional and experimental work on the responses of Antarctic benthic species to environmental change.

Research advances on protein-based microneedles for treatment of skin diseases: A review.

From filamentous bulking to controlled filamentous regimes: Ecological functions, structural trade-offs, and regulation of filamentous bacteria in granular sludge systems.

Peptide self-assembly represents a versatile and programmable strategy for generating functional nanomaterials with broad biomedical relevance. This review outlines the physicochemical principles governing assembly, highlighting cooperative noncovalent interactions, hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, electrostatics and hydrophobic forces that drive hierarchical organisation into supramolecular structures. Key analytical techniques for characterising peptide assemblies and nanostructures are also summarised. The contribution of secondary structural motifs, particularly α-helices and β-sheets, is explored in relation to morphology, stability and biological function. α-Helical coiled-coil peptides form well-defined nanotubular architectures suitable for cargo encapsulation, whereas β-sheet peptides assemble into nanofibrillar networks and hydrogels with tuneable mechanical properties and sustained release profiles, as illustrated by systems such as RQDL10. Beyond peptides, protein and DNA self-assembly further expand the biomolecular design space. Protein-based systems leverage hydrophobic and Debye-Hückel electrostatic interactions to build hierarchical, functional architectures. DNA platforms enable programmable, stimulus-responsive assembly, including enzyme- and logic-controlled activation and hybridisation-driven formation of reversible higher-order nanostructures. Applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine are discussed alongside challenges such as limited invivo stability, proteolytic degradation and scalability. Emerging approaches-including rational design, sequence engineering and advanced fabrication-aim to improve predictability and reproducibility, positioning biomolecular self-assembly as a unified platform for next-generation biomaterials.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of Cu-doped UiO-66 activated persulfate for tetracycline degradation.

Photo-responsive G-quadruplex (G4) ligands offer a powerful means to achieve spatiotemporal control over nucleic acid targeting, yet many existing scaffolds suffer from limited thermal stability or modest differences in affinity between photo-isomers. Here we report a thermally stable amido-pyridinium dithienylethene ligand (2) designed to enhance photo-isomer-dependent G4 recognition and increased structural modulation upon switching. Ligand 2 undergoes efficient and reversible photo-isomerization between its open and closed forms under near-UV and red-light irradiation, with long-lived photo-stationary states. Biophysical assays demonstrate that the open-isomer binds cancer-relevant G4 oligonucleotide sequences with 2-7-fold higher affinity than the closed form, while retaining high selectivity over duplex DNA. NMR studies reveal widespread perturbations across multiple G4 topologies, consistent with groove-associated interactions, and confirm that structural changes can be reversibly modulated by alternating irradiation. Importantly, the open-isomer exhibits a five-fold increase in cytotoxicity toward HeLa cells compared to the closed form, while showing negligible toxicity in healthy fibroblasts. Overall, ligand 2 represents a red-light-activated and thermally robust photo-switchable scaffold capable of reversible control over G4 binding and anticancer activity. These findings highlight the potential of amide-modified DTE frameworks as next-generation photo-responsive agents for precise regulation of G4-binding activity and anticancer activity.

A real-time safe multi-threading library was developed on the DIII-D plasma control system to optimize the real-time TORBEAM and real-time STRIDE physics codes. These physics codes are crucial for future fusion power plant operation as they provide information about electron cyclotron wave propagation and heating as well as inform about ideal plasma stability limits. The multi-threading library uses a single Manager thread to coordinate Worker threads and distribute computational work evenly to speed up real-time computations. The flexible nature of the library allows it to work with multiple physics codes and with different numbers of total Worker thread counts. The real-time TORBEAM code executed consistently in under 20 ms while the real-time STRIDE code computes in 100 ms. The multi-threading library developed in this work can be applied to other real-time physics-based codes that will be crucial for the next generation of fusion devices. • Developed multi-threading library for DIII-D real-time plasma control system. • Utilized library for efficient deployment of real-time TORBEAM ray tracing code. • Controlled gyrotrons mirror angles to track dynamic ECH targets. • Calculated MHD stability of DIII-D plasmas in real-time with STRIDE code.

Quantitation of biological analytes at point-of-care remains challenging, particularly in complex media with competing species. Uric acid (UA), a clinically significant bioanalyte, is especially difficult to measure due to interference and the limited stability of conventional sensors. This work presents a non-enzymatic dual-mode plasmonic sensing strategy that integrates propagating surface plasmons with localized nanoparticle-driven resonances to enhance interaction strength and improve optical signal definition. The sensing interface features a multilayer nanostructure of gold film, APTES-modified gold nanoparticles, and reduced graphene oxide, providing reinforced light-matter interaction and selective surface affinity. The sensor achieves a high sensitivity of 0.2258°/(mg/dL), a low detection limit of 0.0446mg/dL, and a high binding affinity of 1451.85 (mg/dL)⁻¹ across UA concentrations of 1-12mg/dL. Selectivity studies show a pronounced resonance shift of 1.6645°, with interference suppressed to ~ 10% even in mixed solutions. Long-term performance assessments reveal less than 0.3% drift after 30 days, 97.2% sensitivity retention following 10 regeneration cycles, and stability above 90% maintained over 90 days at temperatures exceeding 25°C. These results demonstrate a robust, regenerable, and interference-resistant platform suitable for real-time UA monitoring and adaptable to other clinically relevant bioanalytes.

Tetracycline (TC), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, poses serious ecological and health risks due to its environmental persistence, making it necessary to develop effective detection methods. Herein, a dual-emission ratiometric fluorescence sensor (CDs@ZIF-8) was developed via a one-potin situencapsulation of blue-emitting N,S-co-doped carbon dots (CDs) within the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8). The N,S co-doping strategy significantly elevates the fluorescence quantum yield and enriches surface active sites, ensuring a bright and stable reference emission. The characteristic blue emission of the embedded CDs at 430 nm is efficiently quenched via the inner filter effect (IFE) in the presence of TC, whereas a pronounced emission enhancement at 515 nm was induced by the coordination of TC with Zn2+ions from the ZIF-8 framework, which restricts the intramolecular conformational rotation of TC. Consequently, a robust ratiometric response (I515/I430) was established for TC quantification, yielding a broad linear dynamic range (0-80μM) and a low limit of detection (69 nM), furthermore, exceptional selectivity, long-term stability, and reliable recyclability were systematically demonstrated by the developed sensor. Accurate quantification was further achieved in complex real-world matrices (lake water, honey,and milk), with relative standard deviations ranging from 1.09% to 4.51%. Moreover, a smartphone-based point-of-care testing platform was developed leveraging the distinct color transition from blue to yellow-green, showing great promise for on-site visual quantification. Collectively, this study provides a robust, rare-earth-free ratiometric sensing system with integrated dual-mode detection capability, demonstrating substantial potential for environmental monitoring and food safety assurance.

Pumpkin processing by-products represent a sustainable source of lutein; however, the poor stability and low gastrointestinal bioaccessibility of free lutein limit its practical application in functional foods. Previous studies have largely focused on either extraction optimization or encapsulation separately, lacking an integrated approach that combines green extraction with nanoencapsulation to address both recovery and delivery challenges. The objective of this study was to recover a lutein-rich carotenoid extract from pumpkin peel using supercritical CO₂ and subsequently encapsulate it into food-grade nanoliposomes (NLPs) at varying lutein/lecithin ratios (0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, and 1.5% w/w). The physicochemical properties, structural characteristics, antioxidant activity, in vitro release, and gastrointestinal bioaccessibility of the resulting formulations were systematically evaluated. Lutein-loaded NLPs exhibited mean particle sizes ranging from 109 to 272nm with negative zeta potentials (- 22.1 to - 29.1 mV), indicating good colloidal stability. Encapsulation efficiency increased with lutein/lecithin ratio, reaching a maximum of 86.3% at 1.0% loading (NLP3). SEM confirmed spherical nano-vesicles, while FTIR, DSC, and XRD analyses demonstrated successful incorporation of lutein into the lipid bilayer and its transformation from a crystalline to an amorphous state. Under simulated gastrointestinal conditions, NLP3 showed the highest lutein release (≈ 73.0%) and micellar bioaccessibility (45.2%), representing approximately a two-fold enhancement compared with lower-loading formulations. Storage studies revealed superior lutein retention in NLP3 (≈ 85%, 78%, and 75% after 1, 15, and 30 days, respectively). Moreover, DPPH assays indicated that nanoliposomal encapsulation effectively preserved lutein antioxidant activity during storage and enabled sustained radical scavenging behavior. Overall, this work demonstrates an integrated valorization strategy combining green extraction and nanoliposomal delivery to enhance the stability, release, and bioaccessibility of lutein from pumpkin agro-industrial waste, highlighting the potential for developing sustainable, value-added functional food ingredients, nutraceuticals, and food fortification systems.