The rapid spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to an unprecedented public health crisis worldwide. The intensive work on vaccine development, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to milestone achievements in mRNA and liposome-based technologies and raised the general interest in lipid nanocarriers. However, due to the limitation of...
Biomolecular condensates have been linked to the neurodegenerative diseases, where the transition from a liquid-like to solid-like phase results in formation of irreversible protein aggregates. Yet, the molecular organization within condensates remains largely unknown. Here, the link between environmental conditions and phase separation of intrinsically disordered proteins are explored. The...
This research addresses the challenge of precisely locating breast tumors during MRI scans, which affects how surgeries are planned. It outlines a methodological process that combines pre-qualification assessments, 3D scans, MRI, and USG imaging, along with segmentation and finite element analysis. An artificial neural network helps predict tumor movement, aiding in creating detailed surgical...
Biological membranes are known for their complexity, with the formation of membrane domains, such as membrane rafts, being of central importance for the successful execution of various cellular processes. However, due to their nanoscale properties, these domains are often understudied as the experimental techniques required for their quantitative investigation are challenging. To address this...
Biomarkers play an important role in early detection and prognosis; evaluating and monitoring their levels can indicate various clinical conditions of diseases (e.g., cancer and metabolic disorders).1 However, the traditional diagnostic methods often involve time-consuming laboratory assays, delaying clinical decisions. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing portable...
The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) plays a significant role in developing and progressing various cancers, including breast cancer (BC). Its role in promoting cell proliferation, survival, and metastasis makes it an important target for therapeutic interventions. Despite this, EGFR-directed therapies in BC have faced numerous challenges, primarily due to the complex molecular...
Under iron-deficient conditions most aerobic microorganisms secret low molecular-weight chelating compounds – siderophores, which actively transport ferric ions into the cells via specific transporters in the microbial membranes [1, 2]. The biomimetic approach allowed us to diversify the arsenal of siderophore-type molecules, introduce additional desired chemical and/or physical properties,...
Under iron-deficient conditions most aerobic microorganisms secret low molecular-weight chelating compounds – siderophores, which actively transport ferric ions into the cells via specific transporters in the microbial membranes [1, 2]. The biomimetic approach allowed us to diversify the arsenal of siderophore-type molecules, introduce additional desired chemical and/or physical properties,...
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still poses a real threat to human health and challenges worldwide healthcare systems. Despite numerous mutations in the spike of SARS-CoV-2, which raise concerns about escape from vaccines and therapeutic drugs, the essential mechanism for virus infection remains...
The project focuses on exploring an optically active nanomaterial based on perovskites triply-doped with Cr3+ and thoughtfully selected Ln3+ ions (Ln(1)=Sm, Eu, Yb and Ln(2)=Er) with near-infrared (NIR) afterglow emission and persistent luminescence thermometry properties. The research aims to uncover potential application of such materials in theranostic approaches to biomedicine. These...
METABOLATOR is a web application for automated analysis of microcalorimetric metabolic data using Monod's equation. The software was developed in collaboration between the Institute of Resource Ecology and the Department of Information Services and Computing at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf (HZDR), and is now offered as a web service for the community. In addition to publishing the...
Electronic biosensors have found numerous applications in point-of-care (POC) diagnostics thanks to their affordability and facile integration into portable devices, enabling rapid digital display of measured data. However, this class of biosensors still did not reach the stability and reliability required for demanding healthcare applications, such as the diagnostics of complex diseases or...
Aberrant glycosylation is a common feature related to tumor progression, making tumor-associated glycolipids promising molecular targets in antineoplastic therapies and vaccine strategies. 14F7 is an anti-tumor antibody with high clinical potential, which has an extraordinary specificity for NeuGc GM3, but does not recognize the very similar, ubiquitous NeuAc GM3. Understanding the molecular...
The definition of hydrogel describes it as hydrophilic, three-dimensional, polymeric network able to absorb huge amount of water. Mucilage envelope produced by diverse plant seeds/fruits (diaspores) is considered as natural hydrogel and shares with it some specific features i.e. it is built of different polysaccharides (pectins, hemicelluloses and cellulose), which interact with each other via...
Sulfatide (SM4), the simplest, and the most intensively studied sulfated GSL synthesized by the enzyme galactosylceramide sulfotransferase – CST. Increased amounts of sulfatides have been found in various types of carcinomas including breast cancer. The biochemical mechanisms producing altered sulfated glycan structures in cancer cells remain unclear, although understanding it seems to be...
Scientists and clinicians across various disciplines rely on the use of microplates in laboratories and clinical settings. Traditional optical measurement techniques involving cumbersome microplate readers and advanced microscopes offer valuable insights into biological systems. These techniques typically require trained personnel, often limiting their use to dedicated core laboratories. In...
Luminescent thermometers exhibiting also thermoluminescence effect are of great interest in various fields including chemistry, biology, and medicine. They have significant potential as effective tools, particularly in optical imaging of tumor tissues and simultaneous temperature readings with the spatial resolution at the level of single cells.
Promising compounds demonstrating both...
