Conjugation News and Research

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The role of nanotechnology in the fight against COVID-19

Appearing in the journal Nanomedicine, the review summarized all the exciting advances made using diverse nanomaterials (polymeric, inorganic self-assembling materials and peptide-based) towards COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis and therapy.

15 Mar 2021

Simple blood test using nanoparticles could enable earlier detection of acute liver damage

University of Texas at Dallas chemist Dr. Jie Zheng has spent much of his career investigating gold nanoparticles for their potential impact in the field of nanomedicine.

10 Mar 2021

New biosensor measures extracellular hydrogen peroxide levels with nanometer-resolution

Several processes in the human body are regulated by biochemical reactions involving hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

8 Mar 2021

Identification of neutralizing IFNL3 autoantibodies in severe COVID-19 cases

Scientists have recently developed a novel alternative molecular display technology called Molecular Indexing of Proteins by Self Assembly (MIPSA). Their research explains how this technology overcomes the critical disadvantages of PLATO and other full-length protein array technologies.

5 Mar 2021

Commonly used sweeteners may promote antibiotic resistance

Researchers in Australia have conducted a study showing that commonly used nonnutritive sweeteners can promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes in the intestine.

28 Feb 2021

COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows potential against SARS-CoV-2 and potential future zoonotic coronaviruses

A new study sheds light on the threat posed by future zoonotic coronaviruses to make similar leaps across species barriers to infect human beings and cause other pandemics.

22 Feb 2021

Scientists describe genetic mechanisms behind mating process of ciliates

Conjugation (or mating) of ciliates is a unique phenomenon among living beings. They have sex not for reproduction or pleasure — they seek to increase genetic variation.

20 Feb 2021

Vaccine candidate containing tetanus toxoid potentially protective against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from Cuba, China, and France have demonstrated the potential of coupling a viral antigen with the tetanus toxoid protein as a vaccination approach to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

14 Feb 2021

SARS-CoV-2 delays interferon signaling in host cells

A team of scientists from Sweden and India has recently conducted a study to evaluate type I interferon (IFN-I) responses in cells infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The findings reveal that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with a delayed and dysregulated IFN-I response and that pretreatment with IFN-I can reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

7 Feb 2021

Optimizing the structure of drug delivery systems can help target cancer cells

The main culprit in cancer is healthy cells that have gone rogue and acquire the ability to divide uncontrollably.

28 Jan 2021

Specific NSAIDs are metabolized by acyl-CoA synthetases leading to liver toxicity

Liver injury is a rare side effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are frequently used for daily pain control.

22 Jan 2021

Antibiotic resistance may be more widespread than previously expected

Pathogenic bacteria in humans are developing resistance to antibiotics much faster than expected. Now, computational research at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that one reason could be significant genetic transfer between bacteria in our ecosystems and to humans.

21 Jan 2021

Novel modular design approach to antibody nanocage generation

A new study shows the benefits of using computational design to create antibody nanocages that have the required orientation.

7 Dec 2020

Designed proteins assemble antibodies into modular nanocages

With cues from nature, designing functional molecules enables scientists to nanoengineer and customize for specific uses.

3 Dec 2020

Nanoparticles with neutralizing antibodies can inactivate SARS-CoV-2

Using nanoparticles conjugated with SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, researchers demonstrated that intense local heating could inactivate the virus.

3 Dec 2020

Modified SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain could increase vaccine efficacy, says study

A team of researchers from the USA and China have engineered a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that they claim improves the immunogenicity of multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Their study, which was released on the bioRxiv* in November 2020, may help advance even more efficacious SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in the future.

23 Nov 2020

Universal nanoparticle platform may help in rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine

A research group in China recently published a paper on the pre-print server bioRxiv* that reports the performance of a potentially universal nanoparticle platform that may prove useful for the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as other vaccines in the future.

8 Nov 2020

Combination of peptides and antibiotics could be key to eliminating Leishmania parasites

A combination of peptides and antibiotics could be key to eliminating the parasite causing leishmaniasis and avoiding the toxicity to people and animals caused by current drugs.

16 Oct 2020

Combination of antibiotics and peptides could eliminate parasite-causing leishmaniasis