RESUMO
DNA is a biological polymer that encodes and stores genetic information in all living organism. Particularly, the precise nucleobase pairing inside DNA is exploited for the self-assembling of nanostructures with defined size, shape and functionality. These DNA nanostructures are known as framework nucleic acids (FNAs) for their skeleton-like features. Recently, FNAs have been explored in various fields ranging from physics, chemistry to biology. In this review, we mainly focus on the recent progress of FNAs in a pharmaceutical perspective. We summarize the advantages and applications of FNAs for drug discovery, drug delivery and drug analysis. We further discuss the drawbacks of FNAs and provide an outlook on the pharmaceutical research direction of FNAs in the future.
RESUMO
Nano-biosensors have elicited considerable scientific interest in various research areas, including nanotechnology, bio-technology, microelectronics, and analytical techniques. The development of nanomaterials and nanotechnology has produced nano-bio-sensors with increasing potential applications in disease diagnosis. Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that seriously threatens the health human males worldwide. Detecting the low-abundance biomarkers of prostate cancer is critical for its early diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and evaluation of its postsurgical recurrence. This review focuses on the research progress in nano-biosensing technology and its application in the detection of prostate cancer biomarkers.
RESUMO
Analysis of peptide-receptor interactions provides insights for understanding functions of proteins in cells. In this work, we report the development of a fluorescent biosensor for the analysis of peptide-receptor interactions using graphene oxide (GO) and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled octreotide (FOC). Octreotide is a synthesized cyclic peptide with somatostatin-like bioactivity that has been clinically employed. FOC exhibits high adsorption affinity for GO, and its binding results in efficient fluorescence quenching of FITC. Interestingly, the specific binding of the antibody anti-octreotide (AOC) with FOC competitively releases FOC from the GO surface, leading to the recovery of fluorescence. By using this GO-based fluorescent platform, we can detect AOC with a low detection limit of 2 ng/mL. As a step further, we employ this GO-FOC biosensor to image somatostatin receptor subtype 2 overexpressed AR42J tumor cells, which demonstrates high promise for molecular imaging in cancer diagnosis.
