Huoxue Jiedu Recipe represses mitochondrial fission to alleviate submandibular gland inflammation in Sjögren's syndrome.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is the second most common autoimmune rheumatism. Huoxue Jiedu Recipe (HXJDR) is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine with a variety of pharmacological functions; however, its biological function in SS has not been studied yet. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and serum samples were isolated from healthy controls and patients with SS. NOD/Ltj mice were used for developing the SS mouse model. The levels of inflammatory cytokines and NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-related markers as well as dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) were determined by ELISA, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blot analysis, respectively. Hematoxylin and eosin and TUNEL staining detected the pathological damage. A transmission electron microscope was used to observe the mitochondrial microstructure. Inflammatory cytokines IL-18, IL-1ß, B-cell activating factor (BAFF), BAFF-receptor (BAFF-R), IL-6, and TNF-α in serum samples and NLRP3 inflammasome-related makers (NLRP3, cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase 1 [caspase-1], apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-1 recruitment domain [ASC], IL-1ß) in PBMCs were greatly upregulated in patients with SS. Furthermore, cytoplasmic phosphorylation of Drp1 and mitochondrial Drp1 level were significantly increased in PBMCs, while mitochondrial swelling and fuzzy inner ridge were observed in PBMCs of patients with SS, suggesting increased mitochondrial fission. Compared with control mice, SS mice showed decreased salivary flow rate, increased submandibular gland index, and more severe inflammatory infiltration and damage as well as mitochondrial fission in submandibular gland tissues. After HXJDR administration, these effects were significantly reversed. HXJDR treatment could alleviate the inflammatory infiltration and pathological damage in submandibular glands of SS mice by inhibiting Drp-1-dependent mitochondrial fission.

Facile detection of carbendazim in food using TLC-SERS on diatomite thin layer chromatography.

This work aims to isolate and detect pesticide (carbendazim) residue in real food samples: orange juice and kale leaves. The combination of on-chip thin layer chromatography (TLC) and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy was used for the separating and detecting of carbendazim (MBC) from the complex food sample. In order to achieve on-site detection of MBC from real food sample, the portable Raman spectrometer was coupled with TLC-SERS. The porous stationary phase composed of diatomite biosilica is beneficial for SERS enhancement and eluent migration. The experiments exhibited that the diatomite chip was suitable for TLC separation and has not shown SERS background and provided excellent separation efficiency, 10-8 M silver colloids were appropriate for the SERS measurement on TLC chip. The food sample was directly spotted onto the diatomite chip for TLC separation without any pretreatment. The separation and detection process were finished in less than 5 min, the mixture of pyrimethanil, pymetrozine and MBC could be distinguished simultaneously by TLC-SERS at one diatomite chip. The MBC in orange juice and kale were successfully detected, and a limit of detection (LOD) less than 2 ppm could be achieved.

Preparation of multi-functional magnetic-plasmonic nanocomposite for adsorption and detection of thiram using SERS.

Magnetic materials have been widely used for constructing substrate in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing due to the magnetic responsibility. Here, we reported a facile and effective approach to construct multi-functional SERS substrate based on assembling Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on porous Fe microspheres. The porous Fe microspheres were prepared through hydrogen reduction of Fe2O3 NPs with porous structure, in which the size and morphology of Fe could be well controlled. The surface of Fe was grafted with amino group, and then decorated with Ag NPs. The surface area and pore size of Fe microsphere were characterized by nitrogen adsorption and desorption. The Fe@Ag nanocomposite illustrated a good SERS activity. Furthermore, this substrate could be used for pesticide monitoring by portable Raman spectrometer. Especially, the porous Fe microsphere could adsorb analyte from target sample and the Fe@Ag could be concentrated by magnetic force to amplify the SERS signal for thiram detection.