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Lipid bilayer interactions are essential to a vast range of biological functions, such as intracellular transport mechanisms. Surface charging mediated by concentration dependent ion adsorption and desorption on lipid headgroups alters electric double layers as well as van der Waals and steric hydration forces of interacting bilayers. Here, we directly measure bilayer interactions during charge modulation in a symmetrically polarized electrochemical three-mirror interferometer surface forces apparatus. We quantify polarization and concentration dependent hydration and electric double layer forces due to cation adsorption/desorption. Our results demonstrate that exponential hydration layer interactions effectively describe surface potential dependent surface forces due to cation adsorption at high salt concentrations. Hence, electric double layers of lipid bilayers are exclusively dominated by inner Helmholtz charge regulation under physiological conditions. These results are important for rationalizing bilayer behavior under physiological conditions, where charge and concentration modulation may act as biological triggers for function and signaling.

For almost two decades, scientists have been exploring the use of nanoparticles as drug vesicles capable of protecting their cargo and deliver it to the target site while evading detection by the body. However, their translation to clinical use has been slower than expected. To a large degree, this is due to the difficulty to formulate the nanomaterial into a usable form, in which they retain their unique, size-dependent properties without aggregating into a bulk material. In this work, we describe a simple methodology for synthesising novel biodegradable microneedle systems infused with silica nanoparticles (SiNP). SiNP were doped with small library of model anti-cancer drugs or drug surrogates before being characterised and encapsulated into biodegradable microneedles. Detailed preparation and characterisation methods for both the nanoparticles and the microneedles-infused with nanoparticles are presented here. We demonstrated the distribution of the nanoparticles within the microneedle matrix in a uniform, un-aggregated form, which enabled the release of the nanoparticles in a sustained manner. Formulating nanomaterial into biodegradable, hydrogel-like microneedles was shown to be effective in preserving their colloidal properties, whilst simultaneously enabling the transdermal delivery of the nanomaterial into the body. Although the concepts of nanoparticles and biodegradable microneedles have been researched individually, the combination of the two, to the best of our knowledge, offers a new pathway to nanomedicine-related applications.

Lipids have an important role in the complex lubrication of articulating joints, however changes in lipid phase behavior that occur owing to mechanical confinement are not well understood. Here, a surface force-type apparatus has been combined with neutron reflectometry to measure confinement-induced changes in the structure of lipids, the major surface-active component of the lubricant in articulating joints. The same incompressible state was accessed under low uniaxial stress (1 bar), irrespective of whether the lipids had started out unconfined above or below the Lα phase transition, and irrespective of whether they were fully or partially hydrated. In this incompressible state, the lipid component had thickened indicating extension and rearrangement of the lipid chains in response to the applied stress. The small amount of water remaining between each lipid bilayer was found to be similar for all chain lengths and starting phases. This represents the first structural evidence of the tightly bound water layer at the headgroups, which is required for hydration lubrication under load.

Enzymatically-switchable fluorescent substrates, such as the commercially available 4-methyl umbelliferones (4-MU) are used as standard indicators of enzymatic activity for the detection of various microorganisms and pathogens. However, a major disadvantage of 4-MU is its relatively high pKa leading to only partial dissociation of the fluorescent anion under the conditions where the enzymes are most effective (pH 6–6.5). Here we present a method for new, enzymatically-switchable, fluorescent substrates with improved photo-physico/chemical properties. The lead derivative, 4-AAU, shows excellent solubility in aqueous media (0.81 mg/mL) when compared to 4-MU (0.16 mg/mL), significantly improved quantum yield and wider dynamic range of its fluorescence properties. The corresponding bacterial substrate β-4-AAUG showed superior selectivity in the detection of clinically relevant amounts of E. coli, Enterococcus and K. pneumonia (1 CFU). The fluorescence intensity of β-4-AAUG was almost 5 times higher than that of the standard, the detection was possible in reasonably short time (∼ 2.5 h) and with excellent sensitivity.

Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy has been used extensively for the investigation of the conformation and configuration of chiral molecules, but its use for evaluating the mode of self-assembly in soft materials has been limited. Herein, we report a protocol for the study of such materials by electronic circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy using commercial/benchtop instruments and synchrotron radiation (SR) using the B23 beamline available at Diamond Light Source. The use of B23 beamtime for SRCD was advantageous due to the unique enhanced spatial resolution achieved because of its highly collimated and small beamlight cross-section (ca 250 μm) and higher photon flux in the far UV region (175-250 nm) enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio relative to benchtop CD instruments. A set of low molecular weight (LMW) hydrogelators, comprising two Fmoc-protected enantiomeric monosaccharides and one Fmoc-dipeptide (Fmoc-FF) were studied. The research focused on the optimization of sample preparation and handling, which then enabled the characterisation of sample conformational homogeneity and thermal stability. CD spectroscopy, in combination with other spectroscopic techniques and microscopy, will allow a better insight into the self-assembly of chiral building blocks into higher order structural architectures.

For successful nanomedicine, it is important that the unique, size-dependent physico-chemical properties of the nanomaterial remain predictably constant during both the storage and the manipulation of the material. Here a novel approach to preserve the colloidal stability and degradation of NPs is described. The concept is simple: (a) a solution of monodisperse particles is formulated into a responsive water- or PBS-based hydrogel; (b) the gel can be reversibly turned into a solution after long term storage by shaking it by hand; (c) the NP can be diluted and used in any desired application without the need for excessive manipulation. The differences between the physico-chemical properties of NPs stored in solution and in gel are compared. Two types of NPs were involved in this study: silica NPs of similar100 nm and Au-NPs of 30 and 80 nm in diameter. The key findings are: the fibrous matrix of the hydrogel limits the NP mobility{,} significantly reduces NP aggregation and conserves the NP morphology; both the hydrogelator and the NPs show negligible toxicity towards the model U937 human hematopoietic cell line; undesired leaching of cargo material loaded inside the particles is reduced{,} which could be an important feature for drug delivery systems.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) targeting tegafur, an anti-cancer 5-fluorouracil pro-drug, have been prepared by stoichiometric imprinting using 2,6-bis(acrylamido)pyridine (BAAPy) as the functional monomer. Solution association between tegafur and BAAPy was studied by 1H NMR titration, which confirmed the formation of 1:1 complexes with an affinity constant of 574±15 M-1 ¬in CDCl3. Evaluation of the synthesised materials by HPLC and equilibrium rebinding experiments revealed high selectivity of the imprinted polymer for the pro-drug versus 5-fluorouracil and other competing analytes, with maximum imprinting factors of 25.3 and a binding capacity of 45.1 μmol g-1. The synthesised imprinted polymer was employed in solid-phase extraction of the pro-drug using an optimised protocol that included a simple wash with the porogen used in the preparation of the material. Tegafur recoveries of up to 96% were achieved from aqueous samples and 92% from urine samples spiked with the template and three competing analytes. The results demonstrate the potential of the prepared polymers in the pre-concentration of tegafur from biological samples, which could be an invaluable tool in the monitoring of patient compliance and drug uptake and excretion.

Pseudouridine (?) is an important urinary cancer biomarker, especially in human colorectal cancer (CRC). Disclosed herein is the first ? molecularly imprinted polymer (?-MIP) material obtained from tailor-engineered functional monomers. The resulting MIP imprint exhibits a remarkable imprinting factor greater than 70. It is successfully used for the selective recognition of ? in spiked human urine. This selective functionalized material opens the route to the development of inexpensive disposable chemosensors for noninvasive CRC diagnosis and prognosis.