TY  - JOUR
AB  - Malaria is a life-threatening epidemic disease with half of the world's population at risk. Although its incidence rate has fallen since 2010, this ratio dramatically stalled between 2014 and 2018. New fast and optimized tools in vaccine analysis and seroconversion testing are critically needed. We developed a clinical diagnostic device based on piezo-actuated nanoresonators that perform as quantitative in situ calibrated nano-bio sensors for specific detection of multiple target molecules in serum samples. The immunoassay successfully diagnoses humoral immune responses induced by malaria vaccine candidates and reveals the timeline and stage of the infection. We applied the newly developed strategy to a variety of different samples, from pure antibody/vaccine solutions, to blood samples from clinical trials on both naïve and pre-exposed malaria volunteers from sub-Saharan countries. Our nanomechanical assay provides a direct one-step label-free quantitative immunoassay that is on par with the gold-standard, multi-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We achieve a limit of detection of few pg ml-1, or sub-pM concentrations. The 6 μl sample volume allows more than 50 experiments from one finger prick. Furthermore, we simultaneously detected multiple analytes by differential functionalization of multiple sensors in parallel. The inherent differential read-out with in situ controls reduces false positive results. Due to the faster turnaround time, the minimal volume required and the automatized handling system, this technique has great potential for miniaturization and routine diagnostics in pandemic emergencies.
AU  - Brunetti, G.*
AU  - Padovani, F.
AU  - De Pastina, A.*
AU  - Rotella, C.*
AU  - Monahan, A.*
AU  - Hoffman, S.L.*
AU  - Jongo, S.A.*
AU  - Abdulla, S.*
AU  - Corradin, G.*
AU  - Pluschke, G.*
AU  - Daubenberger, C.*
AU  - Hegner, M.*
C1  - 61103
C2  - 49777
CY  - Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Rd, Cambridge Cb4 0wf, Cambs, England
SP  - 2338-2349
TI  - Nanotechnological immunoassay for rapid label-free analysis of candidate malaria vaccines.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 13
IS  - 4
PB  - Royal Soc Chemistry
PY  - 2021
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The in vivo toxicity of QDs in animals has been broadly studied; however, their reproductive toxicity towards lactating rodents is currently unknown. This study therefore aims to assess the potential toxicity against dams and offspring after postnatal QD exposure at two doses (5 and 1 nmol per rat) and unravel whether QDs can translocate to pups via breastfeeding. The dose-dependent systemic toxicity of QDs in dams was observed by examining the body weight, hematology, biochemistry, histopathological changes, and sex hormone levels. It was found that the QDs primarily accumulated in the liver and spleen of dams at 1 day post injection (dpi), but the highest concentrations were found in the kidneys at 18 dpi. A few QDs were detected in breast milk and stomach and intestine of pups; this suggested that the QDs were transmitted to breast milk via blood circulation and then transferred to pups via breastfeeding. High-dose QDs induced severe growth inhibition and a 71.08% offspring mortality, while pups showed growth restriction within 90 dpi in the low-dose group. Moreover, the hematology, biochemistry, and histology results showed limited chronic toxicity against offspring in the long term. This study provides a theoretical foundation for the exposure assessment of nanomaterials in lactating animals and for the advancement of QDs in the biomedical field.
AU  - Yang, L.
AU  - Kuang, H.*
AU  - Zhang, W.*
AU  - Wei, H.*
AU  - Xu, H.*
C1  - 53622
C2  - 44937
CY  - Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Rd, Cambridge Cb4 0wf, Cambs, England
SP  - 11564-11577
TI  - Quantum dots cause acute systemic toxicity in lactating rats and growth restriction of offspring.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 10
IS  - 24
PB  - Royal Soc Chemistry
PY  - 2018
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Detoxification of cigarette smoke employing copper compounds has a potential for the formation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and should not be practiced before the degree of formation has been shown to be harmless.
AU  - Lenoir, D.
AU  - Schramm, K.-W.
C1  - 52069
C2  - 43699
CY  - Cambridge
SP  - 15717-15718
TI  - Comment on "Glycine-functionalized copper(ii) hydroxide nanoparticles with high intrinsic superoxide dismutase activity" by K. Korschelt, R. Ragg, C. S. Metzger, M. Kluenker, M. Oster, B. Barton, M. Panthöfer, D. Strand, U. Kolb, M. Mondeshki, S. Strand, J. Brieger, M. N. Tahir and W. Tremel, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 3952.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 9
IS  - 40
PB  - Royal Soc Chemistry
PY  - 2017
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) exhibit unique drug delivery properties and are thus considered as promising candidates for next generation nano-medicines. In particular, inhalation into the lungs represents a direct, non-invasive delivery route for treating lung disease. To assess MSN biocompatibility in the lung, we investigated the bioresponse of avidin-coated MSNs (MSN-AVI), as well as aminated (uncoated) MSNs, after direct application into the lungs of mice. We quantified MSN distribution, clearance rate, cell-specific uptake, and inflammatory responses to MSNs within one week after instillation. We show that amine-functionalized (MSN-NH2) particles are not taken up by lung epithelial cells, but induced a prolonged inflammatory response in the lung and macrophage cell death. In contrast, MSN-AVI co-localized with alveolar epithelial type 1 and type 2 cells in the lung in the absence of sustained inflammatory responses or cell death, and showed preferential epithelial cell uptake in in vitro co-cultures. Further, MSN-AVI particles demonstrated uniform particle distribution in mouse lungs and slow clearance rates. Thus, we provide evidence that avidin functionalized MSNs (MSN-AVI) have the potential to serve as versatile biocompatible drug carriers for lung-specific drug delivery.
AU  - van Rijt, S.H.
AU  - Bölükbas, D.A.
AU  - Argyo, C.*
AU  - Wipplinger, K.
AU  - Naureen, M.
AU  - Datz, S.*
AU  - Eickelberg, O.
AU  - Meiners, S.
AU  - Bein, T.*
AU  - Schmid, O.
AU  - Stöger, T.
C1  - 48204
C2  - 41048
CY  - Cambridge
SP  - 8058-8069
TI  - Applicability of avidin protein coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carriers in the lung.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 8
IS  - 15
PB  - Royal Soc Chemistry
PY  - 2016
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Gold glyconanoparticles (GlycoNPs) are full of promise in areas like biomedicine, biotechnology and materials science due to their amazing physical, chemical and biological properties. Here, siRNA GlycoNPs (AuNP@PEG@Glucose@siRNA) in comparison with PEGylated GlycoNPs (AuNP@PEG@Glucose) were applied in vitro to a luciferase-CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cancer cell line and in vivo via intratracheal instillation directly into the lungs of B6 albino mice grafted with luciferase-CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cells. siRNA GlycoNPs but not PEGylated GlycoNPs induced the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins such as Fas/CD95 and caspases 3 and 9 in CMT/167 adenocarcinoma cells in a dose dependent manner, independent of the inflammatory response, evaluated by bronchoalveolar lavage cell counting. Moreover, in vivo pulmonary delivered siRNA GlycoNPs were capable of targeting c-Myc gene expression (a crucial regulator of cell proliferation and apoptosis) via in vivo RNAi in tumour tissue, leading to an ∼80% reduction in tumour size without associated inflammation.
AU  - Conde, J.*
AU  - Tian, F.
AU  - Hernandez, Y.*
AU  - Bao, C.*
AU  - Baptista, P.V.*
AU  - Cui, D.*
AU  - Stöger, T.
AU  - de la Fuente, J.M.*
C1  - 44853
C2  - 37026
CY  - Cambridge
SP  - 9083-9091
TI  - RNAi-based glyconanoparticles trigger apoptotic pathways for in vitro and in vivo enhanced cancer-cell killing.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 7
IS  - 19
PB  - Royal Soc Chemistry
PY  - 2015
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  - 

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Therapeutic applications of gene silencing using siRNA have seen increasing interest over the past decade. The optimization of the delivery and biodistribution of siRNA using liposome-gold nanorod (AuNRs) nanoscale carriers can greatly benefit from adept imaging methods that can visualize the time-resolved delivery performance of such vectors. In this work, we describe the effect of AuNR length incorporated with liposomes and show their complexation with siRNA as a novel gene delivery vehicle. We demonstrate the application of multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) to longitudinally visualize the localisation of siRNA carrying liposome-AuNR hybrids within tumors. Combination of in vivo MSOT with ex vivo fluorescence cryo-slice imaging offers further insight into the siRNA transport and activity obtained.
AU  - Taruttis, A.
AU  - Lozano, N.*
AU  - Nunes, A.
AU  - Jasim, D.A.*
AU  - Bézière, N.
AU  - Herzog, E.
AU  - Kostarelos, K.*
AU  - Ntziachristos, V.
C1  - 32539
C2  - 35115
SP  - 13451-13456
TI  - siRNA liposome-gold nanorod vectors for multispectral optoacoustic tomography theranostics.
JO  - Nanoscale
VL  - 6
IS  - 22
PY  - 2014
SN  - 2040-3364
ER  -