A few ruthenium based metal carbonyl complexes, e.g. CORM-2 and CORM-3, have therapeutic activity attributed to their ability to deliver CO to biological targets. In this work, a series of related complexes with the formula [Ru(CO)(3)Cl2L] (L = DMSO (3), L-H3CSO(CH2)(2)CH(NH2)CO2H) (6a); D,L-H3CSO(CH2)(2)CH-(NH2)CO2H (6b); 3-NC5H4(CH2)(2)SO3.Na (7); 4-NC5H4(CH2)(2)SO3Na (8); PTA (9); DAPTA (10); H3CS-(CH2)(2)CH(OH) CO2H (11); CNCMe2CO2Me (12); CNCMeEtCO2Me (13); CN(c-C3H4)CO2Et) (14)) were designed, synthesized and studied. The effects of L on their stability, CO release profile, cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory properties are described. The stability in aqueous solution depends on the nature of L as shown using HPLC and LC-MS studies. The isocyanide derivatives are the least stable complexes, and the S-bound methionine oxide derivative is the more stable one. The complexes do not release CO gas to the headspace, but release CO2 instead. X-ray diffraction of crystals of the model protein Hen Egg White Lysozyme soaked with 6b (4UWN) and 8 (4UWV) shows the addition of Ru-II(CO)(H2O)(4) at the His15 binding site. Soakings with 7 (4UWU) produced the metallacarboxylate [Ru(COOH)(CO)(H2O)(3)](+) bound to the His15 site. The aqueous chemistry of these complexes is governed by the water-gas shift reaction initiated with the nucleophilic attack of HO- on coordinated CO. DFT calculations show this addition to be essentially barrierless. The complexes have low cytotoxicity and low hemolytic indices. Following i.v. administration of CORM-3, the in vivo bio-distribution of CO differs from that obtained with CO inhalation or with heme oxygenase stimulation. A mechanism for CO transport and delivery from these complexes is proposed.

Gum arabic (GA) is a hydrophilic composite polysaccharide derived from exudates of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees. It is biocompatible, possesses emulsifying and stabilizing properties and has been explored as coating agent of nanomaterials for biomedical applications, namely magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Previous studies focused on the adsorption of GA onto MNPs produced by co-precipitation methods. In this work, MNPs produced by a thermal decomposition method, known to produce uniform particles with better crystalline properties, were used for the covalent coupling of GA through its free amine groups, which increases the stability of the coating layer. The MNPs were produced by thermal decomposition of Fe(acac)3 in organic solvent and, after ligand-exchange with meso-2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), GA coating was achieved by the establishment of a covalent bond between DMSA and GA moieties. Clusters of several magnetic cores entrapped in a shell of GA were obtained, with good colloidal stability and promising magnetic relaxation properties (r2/r1 ratio of 350). HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cell line was used for in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation and cell-labeling efficiency studies. We show that, upon administration at the respective IC50, GA coating enhances MNP cellular uptake by 19 times compared to particles bearing only DMSA moieties. Accordingly, in vitro MR images of cells incubated with increasing concentrations of GA-coated MNP present dose-dependent contrast enhancement. The obtained results suggest that the GA magnetic nanosystem could be used as a MRI contrast agent for cell-labeling applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of specific nucleic acid sequences mediated by gold nanoparticles derivatized thiol-modified oligonucleotides (Au-nanoprobes) has been proven to be a useful tool in molecular diagnostics. Here, we demonstrate that, on optimization, detection may be simplified via the use of a single Au-nanoprobe to detect a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in homo- or heterozygote condition. We validated this non-cross-linking approach through the analysis of 20 clinical samples using a single specific Au-nanoprobe for an SNP in the FTO (fat mass and obesity-associated) gene against direct DNA sequencing. Sensitivity, specificity, and limit of detection CLOD) were determined, and statistical differences were calculated by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post hoc Tukey's test to ascertain whether there were any differences between Au-nanoprobe genotyped groups. For the first time, we show that the use of a single Au-nanoprobe can detect SNP for each genetic status (wild type, heterozygous, or mutant) with high degrees of sensitivity (87.50%) and specificity (91.67%). (c) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The purification of recombinant proteins by affinity chromatography is one of the most efficient strategies due to the high recovery yields and purity achieved. However, this is dependent on the availability of specific affinity adsorbents for each particular target protein. The diversity of proteins to be purified augments the complexity and number of specific affinity adsorbents needed, and therefore generic platforms for the purification of recombinant proteins are appealing strategies. This justifies why genetically encoded affinity tags became so popular for recombinant protein purification, as these systems only require specific ligands for the capture of the fusion protein through a pre-defined affinity tag tail. There is a wide range of available affinity pairs “tag-ligand” combining biological or structural affinity ligands with the respective binding tags. This review gives a general overview of the well-established “tag-ligand” systems available for fusion protein purification and also explores current unconventional strategies under development.

The color sensing ability of a data acquisition prototype system integrating a 32 linear array of 1D amorphous silicon position sensitive detectors (PSD) was analyzed. Besides being used to reproduce a 3D profile of highly reflective surfaces, here we show that it can also differentiate primary red, green, blue (RGB) and derived colors. This was realized by using an incident beam with a RGB color combination and adequate integration times taking into account that a color surface mostly reflects its corresponding color. A mean colorimetric error of 25.7 was obtained. Overall, we show that color detection is possible via the use of this sensor array system, composed by a simpler amorphous silicon pin junction.