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Synthetic Biology: From Gene Circuits to Novel Biological Tools
Published in Tuan Vo-Dinh, Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine, 2017
Nina G. Argibay, Eric M. Vazquez, Cortney E. Wilson, Travis J.A. Craddock, Robert P. Smith
Systems designed to treat cancer cells have mostly been engineered using bacteria, which are modified to produce and deliver chemotherapeutics. One particularly challenging feature of engineering such systems is ensuring that the drug is delivered directly into the cancer cell. To address this issue, Anderson et al. engineered a synthetic system consisting of bacteria that express the invasin gene from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (Anderson et al. 2006). Expression of invasin allows bacteria to penetrate into mammalian cells. Once inside, bacterial gene expression can continue by using host-cell provided nutrients. Interestingly, the authors engineered the expression of invasin to only occur in hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions, which are often observed in areas surrounding cancer cells.
Preparation, properties, applications and outlook of graphene-based materials in biomedical field: a comprehensive review
Published in Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2023
Luyang Yao, Anqi Chen, Li Li, Yu Liu
Biochemical detection is an indispensable approach to disease prevention and diagnosis. According to literature reports, biosensors based on graphene can respond to hydrogen peroxide, uric acid, glucose, dopamine, lipids, peptides, ions, ascorbic acid, cholesterol, nucleic acid, pathogenic microorganisms and other substances [150–152]. Uric acid (UA) levels in the body are strongly linked to kidney disease, Reanpang et al. [150] decorated the screen-printed carbon electrode with a mixture of carbon black (CB) and GO (1:1), the combination of CB and GO can improve sensitivity and achieve an extremely low limit of detection for UA determination (0.01 μM) and the linear range was wide (0.05–2000 μM). Further, flow injection ampere sensor system was prepared based on the modified electrode, at the 95% confidence level, the detection data of the system was very consistent with the hospital standard detection method based on uric acid enzyme/peroxide enzymatic (R2 = 0.9908), which is expected to become an economical and effective alternative. Yang et al. [153] provided a phage-based electrochemical biosensor, in order to improve the performance of the biosensor, rGO and gold nanoparticles were added to further improve the REDOX stability and conductivity due to its fast electron transfer rate and electrocatalytic activity. The biosensor can specifically detect live Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and does not react to phage non-host bacteria and dead Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. At present, several studies have reported graphene-based biosensors for COVID-19 detection, with different designs that can achieve multiple detections of viral infection biomarkers such as IgG and IgM antibodies, viral antigen nucleocapsid protein, C-reactive protein, spike protein, viral RNA, etc., on this basis, further integrated IoT (Internet of Things) module can meet the diagnostic needs as well as effectively screen the transmission of SARS-COV-2 [154, 155]. Similarly, quantitative detection of cancer biomarkers (DNA, miRNA, proteins) enables early diagnosis of different types of cancer diseases [156].