0000000000307011
AUTHOR
Mahmoud Hashemzaei
Biosensing of microcystins in water samples; recent advances
Safety and quality of water are significant matters for agriculture, animals and human health. Microcystins, as secondary metabolite of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and cyclic heptapeptide cyanotoxin, are one of the main marine toxins in continental aquatic ecosystems. More than 100 microcystins have been identified, of which MC-LR is the most important type due to its high toxicity and common detection in the environment. Climate change is an impressive factor with effects on cyanobacterial blooms as source of microcystins. The presence of this cyanotoxin in freshwater, drinking water, water reservoir supplies and food (vegetable, fish and shellfish) has created a common phenomenon in …
Molecular beacon strategies for sensing purpose
Abstract The improvement of nucleic acid probes as vital molecular engineering devices will cause a noteworthy contribution to developments in bioimaging, biosensing, and disorders diagnosis. The molecular beacon (MB) which was designed by Tyagi and Kramer in 1996, are loop-stem hairpin-designed oligonucleotides armed with a quencher and a dye (also named reporter groups) at the 3′ or 5′ ends. This construction allows that MBs in the absence of their target complementary molecules do not fluoresce. Through hybridization with their specific targets a spontaneous configuration change on MBs occur and the dye and quencher separate from each other, resulting in emitting the fluorescence. MBs ar…
Development of biosensors for detection of alpha-fetoprotein: As a major biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma
Abstract Alpha-fetoprotein as a multifunctional glycoprotein with a dual regulatory role in cancer and fetal activities is belonging to an albuminoid gene family. Due to important biological activities of alpha-fetoprotein in the adjustment of cancer, the level of this biomarker, majorly in liver carcinomas, abnormally is elevated. Also, the probability of high-risk or low-risk patients for chromosomal abnormalities can be identified by the serum level of alpha-fetoprotein. The detection of biomarkers possesses an important role in prognosis and early diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. So, the development of accurate and sensitive methods for measurement of alpha-fetoprotein is of grea…
Recent advances of electrochemical and optical biosensors for detection of C-reactive protein as a major inflammatory biomarker
Abstract Early detection of inflammatory mediators including C-reactive protein (CRP) is of great diagnostic importance in many human diseases. CRP elevates very fast in conditions such as tissue injuries, infections, cancers, and renal and cardiovascular diseases. Conventional techniques for detecting CRP are based on antigen–antibody, agglutination, and precipitation reactions. Newer methods based on immunoturbidimetry and immunonephelometry are also time-consuming and relatively expensive. For solving these problems, highly efficient techniques based on CRP-biosensors have been introduced. Here, our aim was to summarize the features of recent biosensors for detection of CRP in biological…
Recent advances on application of peptide nucleic acids as a bioreceptor in biosensors development
Abstract The analogs of DNA are unique biomedical tools that are broadly utilized to develop different types of biosensors. Peptide nucleic acids (PNA) are an individual and notable class of nucleic acid analogs due to their unique, novel physicochemical and biochemical characteristics, stability and resistance to nuclease and protease enzymes, significant interactions with complementary strands and remarkable hybridization attributes. Therefore, they are employed in the preparation and fabrication of various types of functional biosensors. In other words, immobilization of PNA as an appropriate diagnostic probe on the surface of electrochemical and optical converters lead to the fabricatio…
Carbon based nanomaterials for the detection of narrow therapeutic index pharmaceuticals
Precise detection of important pharmaceuticals with narrow therapeutic index (NTI) is very critical as there is a small window between their effective dose and the doses at which the adverse reactions are very likely to appear. Regarding the fact that various pharmacokinetics will be plausible while considering pharmacogenetic factors and also differences between generic and brand name drugs, accurate detection of NTI will be more important. Current routine analytical techniques suffer from many drawbacks while using novel biosensors can bring up many advantages including fast detection, accuracy, low cost with simple and repeatable measurements. Recently the well-known carbon Nano-allotrop…
Metal-organic frameworks conjugated with biomolecules as efficient platforms for development of biosensors
Abstract Recent developments in the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have renewed the interests of scientists to bring about a major breakthrough in this field soon. These particles consist of ultra-highly porous and tremendous internal surface areas with extraordinary variabilities that make them highly potent compounds in nanomedicine. Moreover, low weight, large free volumes, and multiple functionalities of these particles have made them extremely attractive for various applications. Along with a critical role in the adsorption and separation of different analytes, they also have an immense role in the development of biosensor platforms that are expected to pave the way for accur…
Recent advances on thermosensitive and pH-sensitive liposomes employed in controlled release
Nanotechnology has recently gained lots of interest in drug delivery due to its potential to improve the therapeutic outcomes of various diseases. Particularly, a wide range of different nano-sized vesicles has been investigated for drug delivery. Among them, one of the most attractive and well-investigated nanocarriers are liposomes. Although liposomes have several advantages such as low toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility as well as accumulate in tumor site via enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, inefficient drug delivery to the target cells could affect the therapeutic purpose of most of conventional liposomal formulations. Therefore, new systems of drug release…