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Aptamers are recognition elements increasingly used for the development of biosensing strategies, especially in the detection of proteins or small molecule targets. Lysozyme, which is recognized as an important biomarker for various diseases and a major allergenic protein found in egg whites, is one of the main analytical targets of aptamer-based biosensors. However, since aptamer-based strategies can be prone to artifacts and data misinterpretation, rigorous strategies for multifaceted characterization of the aptamer-target interaction are needed. In this work, a multitechnique approach has been devised to get further insights into the binding performance of the anti-lysozyme DNA aptamers commonly used in the literature. To study molecular interactions between lysozyme and different anti-lysozyme DNA aptamers, measurements based on a magneto-electrochemical apta-assay, circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation were performed. The reliability and versatility of the approach were proved by investigating a SELEX-selected RNA aptamer reported in the literature, that acts as a positive control. The results confirmed that an interaction in the low micromolar range is present in the investigated binding buffers, and the binding is not associated with a conformational change of either the protein or the DNA aptamer. The similar behavior of the anti-lysozyme DNA aptamers compared to that of randomized sequences and polythymine, used as negative controls, showed nonsequence-specific interactions. This study demonstrates that severe testing of aptamers resulting from SELEX selection is the unique way to push these biorecognition elements toward reliable and reproducible results in the analytical field.

The possibility of incorporating H 2 S slow-release donors inside biomimetic scaffolds can pave the way to new approaches in the field of tissue regeneration and anti-inflammatory treatment. In the present work, GYY4137, an easy-to-handle commercially available Lawesson's reagent derivative, has been successfully incorporated inside biomimetic silk fibroin-based electrospun scaffolds. Due to the instability of GYY4137 in the solvent needed to prepare silk fibroin solutions (formic acid), the electrospinning of the donor together with the silk fibroin turned out to be impossible. Therefore, a multilayer structure was realized, consisting of a PLGA mat containing GYY4137 sandwiched between two silk fibroin nanofibrous layers. Before their use in the multilayer scaffold, the silk fibroin mats were treated in ethanol to induce crystalline phase formation, which conferred water-resistance and biomimetic properties. The morphological, thermal, and chemical properties of the obtained scaffolds were thoroughly characterized by SEM, TGA, DSC, FTIR, and WAXD. Multilayer devices showing two different concentrations of the H 2 S donor, i.e., 2 and 5% w/w with respect to the weight of PLGA, were analyzed to study their H 2 S release and biological properties, and the results were compared with those of the sample not containing GYY4137. The H 2 S release analysis was carried out according to an "ad-hoc" designed procedure based on a validated high-performance liquid chromatography method. The proposed analytical approach demonstrated the slow-release kinetics of H 2 S from the multilayer scaffolds and its tunability by acting on the donor's concentration inside the PLGA nanofibers. Finally, the devices were tested in biological assays using bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells showing the capacity to support cell spreading throughout the scaffold and prevent cytotoxicity effects in serum starvation conditions. The resulting devices can be exploited for applications in the tissue engineering field since they combine the advantages of controlled H 2 S release kinetics and the biomimetic properties of silk fibroin nanofibers.

Clofazimine (CLZ) is an antibiotic with a promising behavior against Gram-positive bacteria; however, the drug is completely insoluble in water and accumulates in fat tissues. We explored nanocarriers, labeled and not labeled with rhodamine, consisting of negatively charged sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrins for CLZ loading. A new oligomeric carrier was obtained cross-linking βCyD with epichlorohydrin followed by sulfonation in a strongly alkaline aqueous medium. The oligomeric carrier has a MW of 53 kDa and forms small nanoparticles of a few tens of nm. With aqueous solutions containing a 25 mg/mL oligomeric carrier, we loaded up to 0.5 mg/mL of drug. The oligomers exhibited a 10-fold better loading capacity compared to monomers and formed nanoparticles with a size in the 20-60 nm range after drug loading. Circular dichroism confirmed encapsulation of the CLZ in the nanocarriers. All carriers with or without CLZ are not cytotoxic up to 1 μM, while CLZ alone is highly cytotoxic at the same concentration. The drug has IC 50 values below 100 nM against S. epidermidis. The same holds true also for clinical isolates of S. epidermidis, some displaying MDR. So, the selectivity index significantly increased for CLZ/carrier systems compared to the drug alone. Taken all together, our results open new avenues for the clinical application of this antibiotic.