A fast, high-affinity fluorescent serotonin biosensor engineered from a tick lipocalin

Fe3O4/Ni nanoparticles anchored nitrogen-doped porous carbon derived from core-shell MOF for simultaneous electrochemical detection of dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine

Pre-designed core-shell metal-organic frameworks (MOFs@MOFs) with customized functionalities can enhance the material properties compared to conventional single MOFs. The porous carbon composites derived from MOFs@MOFs also have excellent functionality due to the presence of multiple metal/metal oxide nanoparticles. This paper synthesized a novel MOFs@MOFs composite (MIL-101(Fe)@Ni-MOF) with a core-shell structure with MIL-101(Fe) as the core and Ni-MOF as the shell. After pyrolysis of the above composite, nitrogen-doped porous carbon (Fe3O4/Ni@NPC) anchored with Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Ni nanoparticles with synergistic catalytic effects were constructed. Fe3O4/Ni@NPC exhibited synergistic catalytic effects for the synchronous and ultra-sensitive detection of dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) with a detection limit of 0.165 μM for DA and 0.327 μM for 5-HT. Highly accurate and sensitive target detection was also achieved in experiments with human serum and PC12 cells, which was of great clinical importance.

Assessing and mitigating batch effects in large-scale omics studies

Batch effects in omics data are notoriously common technical variations unrelated to study objectives, and may result in misleading outcomes if uncorrected, or hinder biomedical discovery if over-corrected. Assessing and mitigating batch effects is crucial for ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of omics data and minimizing the impact of technical variations on biological interpretation. In this review, we highlight the profound negative impact of batch effects and the urgent need to address this challenging problem in large-scale omics studies. We summarize potential sources of batch effects, current progress in evaluating and correcting them, and consortium efforts aiming to tackle them.

Affinities and Kinetics Detection of Protein-Small Molecule Interactions with a Monolayer MoS2 -Based Optical Imaging Platform

Quantifying the binding kinetics and affinities of protein-small molecule interactions is critical for biomarker validation, drug discovery, and deep understanding of various biological processes at the molecular-scale. Novel approaches are demanded as most common label-free techniques are mass-sensitive, which are not suitable for the detection of small molecule interactions. Here, an optical imaging platform is developed to measure the binding kinetics of both protein-small molecules and protein-ions based on monolayer MoS₂ , an ultra-thin 2D material whose optical absorption is extremely sensitive to charge. A model is established to calibrate the optical response due to the charged analyte binding and it is applied to quantify the interactions between abl1 kinase and different small-molecule inhibitors. Such a presented method is capable of distinguishing different inhibitors binding to a wild or mutated kinase, which provides guidance for drug evaluation and drug mechanism exploration. The binding kinetics of calcium ions to calmodulin is also measured, further broadening the application field of the method. In addition, the imaging capability allows mapping the local binding kinetics of the molecular interactions with a high resolution, which reveals visible spatial variability and offers a promising tool for studying heterogeneous local interfacial interactions.

The diversity of the coordination bond generated a POSS-based fluorescent probe for the reversible detection of Cu(II), Fe(III) and amino acids

In recent years, it has been found that Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, and amino acids play an irreplaceable and subtle role in organisms and have attracted the considerable attention of many researchers. Therefore, it is vital to design visual indicators to reveal the relationships between metal ions and amino acids. However, there have been few reports on this vigorous subject. Fortunately, based on the different coordination effects between metal ions and boron groups, we have designed an accessible fluorescent probe (PSI-A). Borane was introduced as an ion-sensitive group to form a novel POSS-based fluorescent probe, which achieves fascinating performance, in situ dynamic multiple detection, excellent photostability, and enervative biological toxicity. PSI-A exhibited predominant selectivity and sensitivity to Cu²⁺/amino acids and Fe³⁺/amino acids sequence reactions in HepG2 cells and zebrafish. The fluorescence of PSI-A was quenched by Cu²⁺, which can be recovered by adding Asp, Ser, Arg, Ace or Trp. Additionally, the fluorescence of PSI-A quenched by Fe³⁺ can be restored after adding Asp. PSI-A is available to monitor Cu²⁺/amino acids and Fe³⁺/amino acids sequence reactions and can be repeated for at least three consecutive cycles without a fatigued performance. Therefore, this multifunctional fluorescent probe may have prospective application potentials in the biological field.