Application of Nanobiotechnology for Early Diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Engineered two-dimensional nanomaterials based diagnostics integrated with internet of medical things (IoMT) for COVID-19

More than four years have passed since an inimitable coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic hit the globe in 2019 after an uncontrolled transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The occurrence of this highly contagious respiratory infectious disease led to chaos and mortality all over the world. The peak paradigm shift of the researchers was inclined towards the accurate and rapid detection of diseases. Since 2019, there has been a boost in the diagnostics of COVID-19 via numerous conventional diagnostic tools like RT-PCR, ELISA, etc., and advanced biosensing kits like LFIA, etc. For the same reason, the use of nanotechnology and two-dimensional nanomaterials (2DNMs) has aided in the fabrication of efficient diagnostic tools to combat COVID-19. This article discusses the engineering techniques utilized for fabricating chemically active E2DNMs that are exceptionally thin and irregular. The techniques encompass the introduction of heteroatoms, intercalation of ions, and the design of strain and defects. E2DNMs possess unique characteristics, including a substantial surface area and controllable electrical, optical, and bioactive properties. These characteristics enable the development of sophisticated diagnostic platforms for real-time biosensors with exceptional sensitivity in detecting SARS-CoV-2. Integrating the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) with these E2DNMs-based advanced diagnostics has led to the development of portable, real-time, scalable, more accurate, and cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic platforms. These diagnostic platforms have the potential to revolutionize SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis by making it faster, easier, and more accessible to people worldwide, thus making them ideal for resource-limited settings. These advanced IoMT diagnostic platforms may help with combating SARS-CoV-2 as well as tracking and predicting the spread of future pandemics, ultimately saving lives and mitigating their impact on global health systems.

Recent advances in the use of inorganic nanomaterials as anti caries agents

Caries is the most prevalent and widespread chronic oral disease. Traditional caries filling materials, due to their lack of anti-caries capabilities, can readily develop secondary caries. Nanomaterials proposed as an effective approach for caries treatment can inhibit biofilm formation. It also can not only reduce demineralization but also promote remineralization. In recent years, nanotechnology in anti-caries materials, particularly nano-adhesive and nano-composite resin, has advanced rapidly. Because inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) interfere with bacterial metabolism and inhibit biofilm development, inorganic NPs have emerged as a new trend in dental applications. Metal and metal oxide NPs by releasing metal ions, oxidative stress induction, and non-oxidative mechanisms showed significant antimicrobial activity. For applying metal and metal oxide NPs as anti caries agents, silver, zinc, titanium, copper, and calcium ions have been shown significant attention. Moreover, fluoride functionalized inorganic NPs were also employed to improve their efficacy of them. The fluoride-functionalized NPs can promote remineralization, and inhibit demineralization by enhancing apatite formation. In this review, we have provided an overview and recent advances in the use of inorganic NPs as anti caries agents. Furthermore, their antimicrobial, remineralizing, and mechanical impacts on dental materials were discussed.

The Impact of LEP rs7799039 Polymorphism and Obesity on the Severity of Coronavirus Disease-19

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

SARS-CoV-2 infection has been recorded in 230 countries to date. Obesity has a negative impact on one's quality of life and is one of the main causes of mortality globally. Obesity affects the immune system, making the host more susceptible to infectious infections. Also, obesity commonly provokes the severity of respiratory diseases so the correlation of LEP rs7799039 Polymorphism in corpulent patients with COVID-19 infection was clearly investigated in the current study.

METHODS

A total of 232 patients were recruited, 116 patients were obese with COVID-19 infection, and 116 patients were non obese COVID-19. Fasting blood glucose test (FBG), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), complete blood count (CBC), international normalized ratio (INR), urea, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), D dimer and C-reactive protein (CRP) were estimated. C.T. scan was performed for each patient, and C.T. severity score was calculated. Genotyping for the leptin rs7799039 SNPs was performed by TaqMan^® (Applied Biosystems Step One ^TM Real-time PCR).

RESULTS

Regarding LEP polymorphism, all individuals of non-obese groups significantly had the homozygous allele GG (100%), whereas only 56% of obese groups had GG alleles (P = 0.001). The severity scores significantly (P = 0.001) varied regarding LEP polymorphism regarding Rs7799039, where the largest proportion of those with Grade IV had the homozygous allele AA (57.1%).

CONCLUSION

There was a correlation between the leptin gene allelic discrimination and COVID-19 CT brutality in obese patients. The A allele was considered a risk factor for severity in COVID-19 patients while the G allele contributes to decreasing that risk.

Recent Advances of Representative Optical Biosensors for Rapid and Sensitive Diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2

The outbreak of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has again emphasized the significance of developing rapid and highly sensitive testing tools for quickly identifying infected patients. Although the current reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) diagnostic techniques can satisfy the required sensitivity and specificity, the inherent disadvantages with time-consuming, sophisticated equipment and professional operators limit its application scopes. Compared with traditional detection techniques, optical biosensors based on nanomaterials/nanostructures have received much interest in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 due to the high sensitivity, high accuracy, and fast response. In this review, the research progress on optical biosensors in SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, including fluorescence biosensors, colorimetric biosensors, Surface Enhancement Raman Scattering (SERS) biosensors, and Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensors, was comprehensively summarized. Further, promising strategies to improve optical biosensors are also explained. Optical biosensors can not only realize the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 but also be applied to judge the infectiousness of the virus and guide the choice of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, showing enormous potential to become point-of-care detection tools for the timely control of the pandemic.

siRNA-based nanotherapeutics as emerging modalities for immune-mediated diseases: A preliminary review

Immune‐mediated diseases (IMDs) are chronic conditions that have an immune‐mediated etiology. Clinically, these diseases appear to be unrelated, but pathogenic pathways have been shown to connect them. While inflammation is a common occurrence in the body, it may either stimulate a favorable immune response to protect against harmful signals or cause illness by damaging cells and tissues. Nanomedicine has tremendous promise for regulating inflammation and treating IMIDs. Various nanoparticles coated with nanotherapeutics have been recently fabricated for effective targeted delivery to inflammatory tissues. RNA interference (RNAi) offers a tremendous genetic approach, particularly if traditional treatments are ineffective against IMDs. In cells, several signaling pathways can be suppressed by using RNAi, which blocks the expression of particular messenger RNAs. Using this molecular approach, the undesirable effects of anti‐inflammatory medications can be reduced. Still, there are many problems with using short‐interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to treat IMDs, including poor localization of the siRNAs in target tissues, unstable gene expression, and quick removal from the blood. Nanotherapeutics have been widely used in designing siRNA‐based carriers because of the restricted therapy options for IMIDs. In this review, we have discussed recent trends in the fabrication of siRNA nanodelivery systems, including lipid‐based siRNA nanocarriers, liposomes, and cationic lipids, stable nucleic acid‐lipid particles, polymeric‐based siRNA nanocarriers, polyethylenimine (PEI)‐based nanosystems, chitosan‐based nanoformulations, inorganic material‐based siRNA nanocarriers, and hybrid‐based delivery systems. We have also introduced novel siRNA‐based nanocarriers to control IMIDs, such as pulmonary inflammation, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. This study will pave the way for new avenues of research into the diagnosis and treatment of IMDs.

Nanomaterials and metal-organic frameworks for biosensing applications of mutations of the emerging viruses

The world today lives in a state of terrible fear due to the mutation of the emerging COVID-19. With the continuation of this pandemic, there is an urgent need for fast, accurate testing devices to detect the emerging SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in terms of biosensors and point-of-care testing. Besides, the urgent development in personal defense tools, anti-viral surfaces and wearables, and smartphones open the door for simplifying the self-diagnosis process everywhere. This review introduces a quick COVID-19 overview: definition, transmission, pathophysiology, the identification and diagnosis, mutation and transformation, and the global situation. It also focuses on an overview of the rapidly advanced technologies based on nanomaterials and MOFs for biosensing, diagnosing, and viral control of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Finally, highlight the latest technologies, applications, existing achievements, and preventive diagnostic strategies to control this epidemic and combat the emerging coronavirus. This humble effort aims to provide a helpful survey that can be used to develop a creative solution and to lay down the future vision of diagnosis against COVID-19.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms located in TNFA, IL1RN, IL6R, and IL6 genes are associated with COVID-19 risk and severity in an Iranian population

Cytokines play pivotal functions in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis. However, little is known about the rationale and importance of genetic variations associated with immune system responses, so-called "immunogenetic profiling." We studied whether polymorphisms of IL6, IL6R, TNFA, and IL1RN affect the disorder severity and outcome in patients infected with COVID19. We recruited 317 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Bu-Ali hospital and 317 high-risk participants who had high exposure to COVID-19 patients but with a negative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Multiple regression analyses were applied. We indicated that participants carrying the A allele in TNFA-rs361525, G>A (p < .004), the C allele in IL1RN-rs419598 T>C (p < .004), the A allele in IL6R-rs2228145, A>C (p = .047) are more susceptible to develop COVID-19. In contrast, those who carry the G allele of IL6-rs2069827, G>T (p = .01), are more protected from COVID-19. Also, we compared the various genotypes regarding the disorder severity and poor prognosis; we found that the AA genotype in TNFA is related to more aggressive illness and bad prognostic in contrast to the other inflammatory cytokines' genotypes. In addition, a high level of inflammatory indications, such as neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and systemic immune-inflammation index, was observed in deceased patients compared with the survived subjects (p < .0001). We advised considering inflammatory cytokines polymorphisms as the main item to realize the therapeutic response against the acute respiratory distress syndrome induced by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Aptamer-conjugated carbon-based nanomaterials for cancer and bacteria theranostics: A review

Aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that link to various substrates with great affinity and selectivity, including small molecules, peptides, proteins, cells, and tissues. For this reason, they can be used as imaging agents for cancer imaging techniques. Multifunctional nanomaterials combined with imaging probes and drugs are promising cancer diagnosis and treatment candidates. On the other hand, carbon-based nanomaterials (CNMs), including such as fullerene, carbon nanotubes, carbon-based quantum dots, carbon nanohorns, graphene oxide and its derivatives carbon nanodots, and nanodiamonds, are sort of smart materials that can be used in a variety of theranostic applications, including photo-triggered therapies. The remarkable physical characteristics, functionalizable chemistry, biocompatibility, and optical properties of these nanoparticles have enabled their utilization in less-invasive therapies. The theranostic agents that emerged by combining aptamers with CNMs have opened a novel alternative for personified medicine of cancer, target-specific imaging, and label-free diagnosis of a broad range of cancers, as well as pathogens. Aptamer-functionalized CNMs have been used as nanovesicles for targeted delivery of anti-cancer agents (i.e., doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil) to tumor sites. Furthermore, these CNMs conjugated with aptamers have shown great advantages over standard CNMs to sensitively detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Citrobacter freundii. Regrettably, CNMs can form compounds defined as NOAA (nano-objects, and their aggregates and agglomerates larger than 100 nm), that accumulate in the body and cause toxic effects. Surface modification and pretreatment with albumin avoid agglomeration and increase the dispersibility of CNMs, so it is needed to guarantee the desirable interactions between functionalized CNMs and blood plasma proteins. This preliminary review aimed to comprehensively discuss the features and uses of aptamer-conjugated CNMs to manage cancer and bacterial infections.

SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Viruses: Strategies to Cope with Co-infection and Bioinformatics Perspective

Almost a century after the devastating pandemic of the Spanish flu, humankind is facing the relatively comparable global outbreak of COVID‐19. COVID‐19 is an infectious disease caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 with an unprecedented transmission pattern. In the face of the recent repercussions of COVID‐19, many have argued that the clinical experience with influenza through the last century may have tremendous implications in the containment of this newly emerged viral disease. During the last 2 years, from the emergence of COVID‐19, tremendous advances have been made in diagnosing and treating coinfections. Several approved vaccines are available now for the primary prevention of COVID‐19 and specific treatments exist to alleviate symptoms. The present review article aims to discuss the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza A virus coinfection while delivering a bioinformatics‐based insight into this subject matter.

New approach in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance using biosensor technology: a review

Biosensors are analytical tools that transform the bio-signal into an observable response. Biosensors are effective for early detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection because they target viral antigens to assess clinical development and provide information on the severity and critical trends of infection. The biosensors are capable of being on-site, fast, and extremely sensitive to the target viral antigen, opening the door for early detection of SARS-CoV-2. They can screen individuals in hospitals, airports, and other crowded locations. Microfluidics and nanotechnology are promising cornerstones for the development of biosensor-based techniques. Recently, due to high selectivity, simplicity, low cost, and reliability, the production of biosensor instruments have attracted considerable interest. This review article precisely provides the extensive scientific advancement and intensive look of basic principles and implementation of biosensors in SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, especially for human health. In this review, the importance of biosensors including Optical, Electrochemical, Piezoelectric, Microfluidic, Paper-based biosensors, Immunosensors, and Nano-Biosensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 has been underscored. Smartphone biosensors and calorimetric strips that target antibodies or antigens should be developed immediately to combat the rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2. Wearable biosensors can constantly monitor patients, which is a highly desired feature of biosensors. Finally, we summarized the literature, outlined new approaches and future directions in diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 by biosensor-based techniques.

Emerging importance of nanotechnology-based approaches to control the COVID-19 pandemic; focus on nanomedicine iterance in diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients

The ongoing outbreak of the newly emerged coronavirus disease 2019, which has tremendously concerned global health safety, is the result of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome of coronavirus 2 with high morbidity and mortality. Because of the coronavirus has no specific treatment, so it is necessary to early detection and produce antiviral agents and efficacious vaccines in order to prevent the contagion of coronavirus. Due to the unique properties of nanomaterials, nanotechnology appears to be a highly relevant discipline in this global emergency, providing expansive chemical functionalization to develop advanced biomedical tools. Fascinatingly, nanomedicine as a hopeful approach for the treatment and diagnosis of diseases, could efficiently help success the fight among coronavirus and host cells. In this review, we will critically discuss how nanomedicine can play an indispensable role in creating useful treatments and diagnostics for coronavirus.

Dysregulation of RNA interference components in COVID-19 patients

OBJECTIVE

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the novel coronavirus causing severe respiratory illness (COVID-19). This virus was initially identified in Wuhan city, a populated area of the Hubei province in China, and still remains one of the major global health challenges. RNA interference (RNAi) is a mechanism of post-transcriptional gene silencing that plays a crucial role in innate viral defense mechanisms by inhibiting the virus replication as well as expression of various viral proteins. Dicer, Drosha, Ago2, and DGCR8 are essential components of the RNAi system, which is supposed to be dysregulated in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to assess the expression level of the mentioned mRNAs in COVID-19patients compared to healthy individuals.

RESULTS

Our findings demonstrated that the expression of Dicer, Drosha, and Ago2 was statistically altered in COVID-19 patients compared to healthy subjects. Ultimately, the RNA interference mechanism as a crucial antiviral defense system was suggested to be dysregulated in COVID-19 patients.

Nanomaterials for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancers: A Review

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a category of cancers that typically arise from the nose-, mouth-, and throat-lining squamous cells. The later stage of HNC diagnosis significantly affects the patient's survival rate. This makes it mandatory to diagnose this cancer with a suitable biomarker and imaging techniques at the earlier stages of growth. There are limitations to traditional technologies for early detection of HNC. Furthermore, the use of nanocarriers for delivering chemo-, radio-, and phototherapeutic drugs represents a promising approach for improving the outcome of HNC treatments. Several studies with nanostructures focus on the development of a targeted and sustained release of anticancer molecules with reduced side effects. Besides, nanovehicles could allow co-delivering of anticancer drugs for synergistic activity to counteract chemo- or radioresistance. Additionally, a new generation of smart nanomaterials with stimuli-responsive properties have been developed to distinguish between unique tumor conditions and healthy tissue. In this light, the present article reviews the mechanisms used by different nanostructures (metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, quantum dots, liposomes, nanomicelles, etc.) to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment, provides an up-to-date picture of the state of the art in this field, and highlights the major challenges for future improvements.