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Analytical platforms for small extracellular vesicle (sEV) high-throughput analysis are highly desirable. These bionanoparticles present fairly distinctive lipid membrane features including high curvature, lipid-packing defects, and a relative abundance in lipids. sEV membrane could be considered as a "universal" marker, complementary or alternative to traditional surface-associated proteins. Here, we describe the use of membrane-sensing peptides as a new, highly efficient ligand to directly integrate sEV capturing and analysis on a microarray platform.

In SARS-CoV-2 pandemic scenario, the identification of rapid methods to detect antibodies against coronavirus has been a wide and urgent issue. Epitope mapping on peptide microarrays is a rapid way to identify sequences with a high immunoreactivity. The process begins with a proteome-wide screening, based on immune affinity; the use of a high-density microarray is followed by a validation phase, where a restricted panel of probes is tested using peptide microarrays; peptide sequences are immobilized through a click-based strategy.COVID-19-positive sera are tested and immuno-domains regions are identified on SARS-CoV-2 spike (S), nucleocapsid (N) protein, and Orf1ab polyprotein. An epitope on N protein (region 155-171) provided good diagnostic performance in discriminating COVID-19-positive vs. healthy individuals. Using this sequence, 92% sensitivity and 100% specificity are reached for IgG detection in COVID-19 samples, and no cross-reactivity with common cold coronaviruses is detected. Overall, epitope 155-171 from N protein represents a promising candidate for further development and rapid implementation in serological tests.

Recent advances in biosensing analytical platforms have brought relevant outcomes for novel diagnostic and therapy-oriented applications. In this context, 3D droplet microarrays, where hydrogels are used as matrices to stably entrap biomolecules onto analytical surfaces, potentially provide relevant advantages over conventional 2D assays, such as increased loading capacity, lower nonspecific binding, and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Here, we describe a hybrid hydrogel composed of a self-assembling peptide and commercial agarose (AG) as a suitable matrix for 3D microarray bioassays. The hybrid hydrogel is printable and self-adhesive and allows analyte diffusion. As a showcase example, we describe its application in a diagnostic immunoassay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Tangential flow filtration membrane systems are employed for the isolation and concentration of extracellular vesicles. However, interfacial interactions between the membrane surface and species influence the flux and membrane performance. Here we propose a strategy aimed at introducing functional ligands over the membrane surface to improve the separation process through combined size-exclusion and affinity-based mechanisms, avoiding the binding of contaminants and other non-target molecules. Polysulfone membranes were modified by a nanometric coating of differently functionalized copolymers with the dual purpose of limiting non-specific interactions while promoting the chemoselective conjugation of a membrane-sensing peptide ligand (BPt) for lipid nanovesicles capture. Copoly azide polymer coating positively affects the physico-chemical properties of the membrane, improving filtration performance and antifouling capacity. A decrease of the flux decline ratio from 38.7±3.9% to 21.2±2.4% and an increase of the ratio of protein permeate concentration (Cp) to the respective feed concentration (Cf) to values of 0.97 was measured after coating the membrane with c-(DMA-N3-BP-MAPS) highlighting its capability to reduce protein adsorption. In addition, the BPt-functionalized membrane displayed a high capturing efficiency towards synthetic liposomes which, notably, can be promptly released upon mild treatment with a divalent cation solution. Overall, our work integrates conventional TFF principles with affinity-based isolation, broadening TFF perspective applications.

Canonical immunoassays rely on highly sensitive and specific capturing of circulating biomarkers by interacting biomolecular baits. In this frame, bioprobe immobilization in spatially discrete three-dimensional (3D) spots onto analytical surfaces by hydrogel encapsulation was shown to provide relevant advantages over conventional two-dimensional (2D) platforms. Yet, the broad application of 3D systems is still hampered by hurdles in matching their straightforward fabrication with optimal functional properties. Herein, we report on a composite hydrogel obtained by combining a self-assembling peptide (namely, Q3 peptide) with low-temperature gelling agarose that is proved to have simple and robust application in the fabrication of microdroplet arrays, overcoming hurdles and limitations commonly associated with 3D hydrogel assays. We demonstrate the real-case scenario feasibility of our 3D system in the profiling of Covid-19 patients' serum IgG immunoreactivity, which showed remarkably improved signal-to-noise ratio over canonical assays in the 2D format and exquisite specificity. Overall, the new two-component hydrogel widens the perspectives of hydrogel-based arrays and represents a step forward towards their routine use in analytical practices.

L’imballaggio dei prodotti di uso quotidiano, anche nel campo della cura di sé, riveste un ruolo sempre più centrale nelle scelte d’acquisto delle persone. Ricerche recenti, interviste ad attori di primo piano del sistema economico nazionale e la nostra sensibilità personale attestano una crescente attenzione, da parte dei consumatori dell’industria cosmetica, al tema della sostenibilità ambientale. Adottando un approccio scientifico, l’Osservatorio Innovazione Packaging, un progetto dell’Advanced Design Unit dell’Università di Bologna, punto di riferimento per la comunità del Sistema Packaging, e Quantis, società di consulenza ambientale nata in seno all’Università di Losanna, con la collaborazione del Centro Studi di Cosmetica Italia, hanno lavorato insieme a una meta-analisi che approfondisce la prospettiva dei consumatori di prodotti cosmetici rispetto alla sostenibilità. La ricerca, dal titolo “Consumatori, cosmetica&packaging”, presentata a ottobre a Ecomondo 2021 e consultabile online, ha confermato l’assunto di partenza: i consumatori chiedono prodotti sempre più sostenibili ed ecocompatibili e l’imballaggio ne è una componente essenziale.

This Chapter aims to summarise the major advances achieved over 2019 and 2020 in the field of photochemistry and photocatalysis by transition metal compounds. In the last years, one of the central research themes has been the development of efficient photocatalytic complexes based on earth-abundant metals as a potential eco-friendly, resource-efficient, and sustainable photochemical approach. Nevertheless, second- and third-row metal complexes still represent key building blocks in the design of new photocatalysts in organic transformations, biomedical applications, as well as in green chemistry fields.

Recent advances in biosensing analytical platforms have brought relevant outcomes for novel diagnostic and therapy-oriented applications. In this context, hydrogels have emerged as appealing matrices to locally confine biomolecules onto sensing surfaces under solution mimetic conditions, preserving their structural integrity and function. Here, we describe the application of a self-assembling peptide hydrogel as a suitable matrix for 3D microarray bioassays. The hydrogel is printable and self-adhesive and allows for fast analyte diffusion. As a showcase example, we describe its application in a diagnostic immunoassay for the detection of arbovirus infection.

Recent advances in biosensing analytical platforms have brought relevant outcomes for novel diagnostic and therapy-oriented applications. In this context, hydrogels have emerged as appealing matrices to locally confine biomolecules onto sensing surfaces under solution mimetic conditions, preserving their structural integrity and function. Here, we describe the application of a self-assembling peptide hydrogel as a suitable matrix for 3D microarray bioassays. The hydrogel is printable and self-adhesive and allows for fast analyte diffusion. As a showcase example, we describe its application in a diagnostic immunoassay for the detection of arbovirus infection.

The use of peptides in paper-based analytics is a highly appealing field, yet it suffers from severe limitations. This is mostly due to the loss of effective target recognition properties of this relatively small bioprobes upon nonspecific adsorption onto cellulose substrates. Here, we address this issue by introducing a simple polymer-based strategy to obtain clickable cellulosic surfaces, that we exploited for the chemoselective bioconjugation of peptide bioprobes. Our method largely outperformed standard adsorption-based immobilization strategy in a challenging, real-case immunoassay, namely the diagnostic discrimination of Zika+ individuals from healthy controls. Of note, the clickable polymeric coating not only allows efficient peptides bioconjugation, but it provides favorable anti-fouling properties to the cellulosic support. We envisage our strategy to broaden the repertoire of cellulosic materials manipulation and promote a renewed interest in peptide-based paper bioassays.

The behavior of 2-naphthol and 7-bromo-2-naphthol as organic photoacids are exploited in organic synthesis for the preparation of benzyl sulfides (using a trichloroacetimidate derivative as the starting substrate) and polycyclic amines via acid catalyzed condensation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline with aldehydes.

Small extracellular vesicles (EVs) present fairly distinctive lipid membrane features in the extracellular environment. These include high curvature, lipid packing defects and a relative abundance in lipids such as phosphatidylserine and ceramide. EVs membrane could be then considered as a "universal" marker, alternative or complementary to traditional characteristic surface-associated proteins. Here we introduce the use of membrane sensing peptides as new, highly efficient ligands for EVs capturing onto bioanalytical chips. In particular, we took advantage of bradykinin-derived peptidic baits to directly integrate EVs capturing and analysis on a microarray platform, even using serum without pre-isolation steps. EVs were analyzed by label-free, single particle counting and by fluorescence co-localization immune-staining with labelled anti-CD9/anti-CD63/anti-CD81 antibodies. Peptides performed as selective yet general EVs baits and showed a binding capacity higher than anti-tetraspanins antibodies. Insights into surface chemistry for optimal peptide performance are also discussed, as capturing efficiency is strictly bound to probes surface orientation and multivalency effects. We anticipate that this new class of ligands, also due to the versatility and limited costs of synthetic peptides, may greatly enrich the molecular toolbox for EVs analysis.