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Abstract Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, primarily observed in populations around the Mediterranean Sea, linked to MEFV gene mutations. These mutations disrupt inflammatory responses, increasing pyrin-protein production. Traditional diagnosis relies on clinical symptoms, family history, acute phase reactants, and excluding similar syndromes with MEFV testing, which is expensive and often inconclusive due to heterozygous mutations. Here, we present a biosensor platform that detects differences in pyrin-protein levels between healthy and affected individuals, offering a cost-effective alternative to genetic testing. Our platform uses gold nanoparticle-based plasmonic chips enhanced with anti-pyrin antibodies, achieving a detection limit of 0.24 ng/mL with high specificity. The system integrates an optofluidic system and visible light spectroscopy for real-time analysis, with signal stability maintained for up to six months. Our technology will enhance FMF diagnosis accuracy, enabling early treatment initiation and providing a cost-effective alternative to genetic testing, thus improving patient care.

Soft actuators that draw inspiration from nature are powerful and versatile tools for both technological applications and fundamental research, yet their use in hot‐spot engineering is very limited. Conventional hot‐spot engineering methods still suffer from complexity, high process cost, and static generation of hot‐spots, thus, underperforming particularly in the application side. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy based on plasmonic nanoparticles decorated cilia‐inspired magnetic actuators that enable highly accessible millimeter‐sized hot‐spot generation via bending motion under a magnetic field. The hot‐spot formation is shown to be reversible and tunable, and leads to excellent Raman signal enhancements of up to ≈120 folds compared to the unactuated platforms. Accessible electromagnetic field magnification in the platforms can be manipulated by controlling magnetic field strength, which is further supported by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, a centipede‐inspired robot is fabricated and used for sample collection/analysis in a target environment. Our results demonstrate an effective strategy in soft actuator platforms for reversible and tunable large‐area hot‐spot formation, which provides a promising guidance toward studying the fundamentals of hot‐spot generation and advancing real‐life plasmonic applications.

Multiple myeloma is characterized by high rates of drug resistance and relapse. Here the authors utilize a functional assay to assess the ex vivo drug sensitivity of single multiple myeloma cells based on measuring the mass accumulation rate of individual cells.

The rapid advancement of air/water interface coatings transcends multiple domains. These coatings, valued for expansive coverage, facile acquisition, and economic efficiency, hold pivotal roles in nanosurface engineering. Conventional approaches to achieving 2D periodic structures, such as electron-beam lithography, suffer from cost and complexity challenges. Nanosphere lithography presents an alternative avenue by harnessing the inherent self-assembly propensity of colloidal nanoparticles and offers simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility with various techniques. The use of nanosphere lithography in coating metal templates gains traction in plasmonics because of its simplicity and speed. The fusion of plasmonics and biosensing enables label-free detection with unprecedented sensitivity, revolutionizing areas such as medicine, diagnostics, and environmental monitoring. In the realm of label-free biosensing, attaining uniform large-area fabrication is critical for robust sensing signals. Detecting spectral variations in low analyte concentrations necessitates a precise response profile. The creation of a potent and accessible local electromagnetic field is vital for enhancing light–biomolecule interactions. We introduce a hybrid plasmonic substrate via nanosphere lithography, combining antenna and aperture responses. The hybrid plasmonic design caters to the prerequisites of efficient label-free biosensing, uniform large-scale fabrication, narrow spectral response, and strong local electromagnetic fields. The hybrid plasmonic substrate promises to advance label-free biosensing capabilities by integrating antenna and aperture responses, facilitating sensitive and robust biosensing applications. Demonstrating these parameters resulted in a high refractive index sensitivity of up to 553 nm/RIU. The hybrid nature further facilitated an impressive detection limit of 0.5 ng/mL for label-free protein IgG detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a high-throughput biosensing device that utilizes microfluidics based plasmonic microarrays incorporated with dual-color on-chip imaging toward real-time and label-free monitoring of biomolecular interactions over a wide field-of-view of >20 mm(2). Weighing 40 grams with 8.8 cm in height, this biosensor utilizes an opto-electronic imager chip to record the diffraction patterns of plasmonic nanoapertures embedded within microfluidic channels, enabling real-time analyte exchange. This plasmonic chip is simultaneously illuminated by two different light-emitting-diodes that are spectrally located at the right and left sides of the plasmonic resonance mode, yielding two different diffraction patterns for each nanoaperture array. Refractive index changes of the medium surrounding the near-field of the nanostructures, e.g., due to molecular binding events, induce a frequency shift in the plasmonic modes of the nanoaperture array, causing a signal enhancement in one of the diffraction patterns while suppressing the other. Based on ratiometric analysis of these diffraction images acquired at the detector-array, we demonstrate the proof-of-concept of this biosensor by monitoring in real-time biomolecular interactions of protein A/G with immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody. For high-throughput on-chip fabrication of these biosensors, we also introduce a deep ultra-violet lithography technique to simultaneously pattern thousands of plasmonic arrays in a cost-effective manner.

Background: Colorectal cancer is the third most common and second deadliest cancer globally. Increasingly, early‑onset colorectal cancer is diagnosed in those under 50 years, leading to some countries advising screenings from ages 40 or 45 years. The ’position of the tumor, right or left, impacts the characteristics and prognosis of early‑onset colorectal cancer. Objectives: Investigating the 5‑year disease‑free and overall survival and histopathologic nature of left‑ and right‑sided early‑onset colorectal cancer. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Koc University and VKF American Hospital. Materials (Patients) and Methods: Our population includes patients under 50 years with invasive colon cancer treated in two tertiary Turkish hospitals from 2014 to 2019. Of 178 patients, 74.3% had left‑sided tumors. Sample Size: One hundred and seventy‑eight patients. Main Outcome Measures: Histopathological features of left‑ and right‑sided colorectal tumors, and the 5‑year disease‑free and overall survival rate in patients under 50 years of age. Results: The 5‑year disease‑free survival was higher in right‑sided tumors(78.2% vs. 53.1%), but overallsurvival wassimilar. No significant histopathological differences were noted between left‑ and right‑sided tumors, but right‑sided tumors had more mucinous adenocarcinoma and high microsatellite instability (MSI). Conclusion: Our data did not show a difference in survival between right‑ and left‑sided tumors in the age group <50 years contrary to other published literature. Limitations: Retrospective nature and inclusion of a single center, which usually serves Turkiye population with a higher socioeconomic status. The retrospective nature of the study makes it susceptible to selection bias. The small sample size precludes robust group matching and diminishes the statistical power, increasing the risk of Type II errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft actuators that draw inspiration from nature are powerful and versatile tools for both technological applications and fundamental research, yet their use in hot‐spot engineering is very limited. Conventional hot‐spot engineering methods still suffer from complexity, high process cost, and static generation of hot‐spots, thus, underperforming particularly in the application side. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy based on plasmonic nanoparticles decorated cilia‐inspired magnetic actuators that enable highly accessible millimeter‐sized hot‐spot generation via bending motion under a magnetic field. The hot‐spot formation is shown to be reversible and tunable, and leads to excellent Raman signal enhancements of up to ≈120 folds compared to the unactuated platforms. Accessible electromagnetic field magnification in the platforms can be manipulated by controlling magnetic field strength, which is further supported by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, a centipede‐inspired robot is fabricated and used for sample collection/analysis in a target environment. Our results demonstrate an effective strategy in soft actuator platforms for reversible and tunable large‐area hot‐spot formation, which provides a promising guidance toward studying the fundamentals of hot‐spot generation and advancing real‐life plasmonic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]