A New Method for Blood NT-proBNP Determination Based on a Near-infrared Point of Care Testing Device with High Sensitivity and Wide Scope

Objective To develop a rapid, highly sensitive, and quantitative method for the detection of NT-proBNP levels based on a near-infrared point-of-care diagnostic （POCT） device with wide scope. Methods The lateral flow assay （LFA） strip of NT-proBNP was first prepared to achieve rapid detection. Then, the antibody pairs for NT-proBNP were screened and labeled with the near-infrared fluorescent dye Dylight-800. The capture antibody was fixed on a nitrocellulose membrane by a scribing device. Serial dilutions of serum samples were prepared using NT-proBNP-free serum series. The prepared test strips, combined with a near-infrared POCT device, were validated by known concentrations of clinical samples. The POCT device gave the output of the ratio of the intensity of the fluorescence signal of the detection line to that of the quality control line. The relationship between the ratio value and the concentration of the specimen was plotted as a work curve. The results of 62 clinical specimens obtained from our method were compared in parallel with those obtained from the Roche E411 kit. Results Based on the log-log plot, the new method demonstrated that there was a good linear relationship between the ratio value and NT-proBNP concentrations ranging from 20 pg/mL to 10 ng/mL. The results of the 62 clinical specimens measured by our method showed a good linear correlation with those measured by the Roche E411 kit. Conclusion The new LFA detection method of NT-proBNP levels based on the near-infrared POCT device was rapid and highly sensitive with wide scope and was thus suitable for rapid and early clinical diagnosis of cardiac impairment.

Organic near-infrared optoelectronic materials and devices:an overview

Near-infrared(NIR)light has shown great potential for military and civilian applications owing to its advantages in the composition of sunlight,invisibility to human eyes,deeper penetration into biological tissues,and low optical loss in optical fibers.Therefore,organic optoelectronic materials that can absorb or emit NIR light have aroused great scientific interest in basic science and practical applications.Based on these NIR organic optoelectronic materials,NIR optoelectronic devices have been greatly improved in performance and application.In this review,the representative NIR organic optoelectronic materials used in organic solar cells,organic photodetectors,organic light-emitting diodes,organic lasers,and organic optical waveguide devices are briefly introduced,and the potential applications of each kind of device are briefly summarized.Finally,we summarize and take up the development of NIR organic optoelectronic materials and devices.

蛋白质即时检测新技术

蛋白质是细胞各类代谢和调控等生命功能的执行者,也是致病因子、药物等对机体作用的重要靶分子。研究蛋白质表达是理解生命现象、疾病进程和药物作用的基础。临床上常规检测方法需要大型仪器支持,但随着医学事业的发展,即时检测(POCT,也称现场检测、床旁检测)成为重要的发展趋势。POCT可以改善患者和医生之间的互动方式,建立一种积极的医疗模式。除诊断、治疗疾病外,对从事应急工作的人员来说,POCT在现场和远程检测方面都有优势,因此研发既准确灵敏又简便快捷的蛋白质即时检测方法至关重要。

Next-Generation Intelligent MXene-Based Electrochemical Aptasensors for Point-of-Care Cancer Diagnostics

Delayed diagnosis of cancer using conventional diagnostic modalities needs to be addressed to reduce the mortality rate of cancer.Recently,2 D nanomaterial-enabled advanced biosensors have shown potential towards the early diagnosis of cancer.The high surface area,surface functional groups availability,and excellent electrical conductivity of MXene make it the 2 D material of choice for the fabrication of advanced electrochemical biosensors for disease diagnostics.MXene-enabled electrochemical aptasensors have shown great promise for the detection of cancer biomarkers with a femtomolar limit of detection.Additionally,the stability,ease of synthesis,good reproducibility,and high specificity offered by MXene-enabled aptasensors hold promise to be the mainstream diagnostic approach.In this review,the design and fabrication of MXene-based electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of cancer biomarkers have been discussed.Besides,various synthetic processes and useful properties of MXenes which can be tuned and optimized easily and efficiently to fabricate sensitive biosensors have been elucidated.Further,futuristic sensing applications along with challenges will be deliberated herein.

Developing near-infrared quantum-dot light-emitting diodes to mimic synaptic plasticity

The quantum-dot light-emitting diodes(QLEDs)that emit near-infrared(NIR)light may be important optoelectronic synaptic devices for the realization of artificial neural networks with complete optoelectronic integration.To improve the performance of NIR QLEDs,we take advantage of their low-energy light emission to explore the use of poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3 HT)as the hole transport layer(HTL).P3 HT has one of the highest hole mobilities among organic semiconductors and essentially does not absorb NIR light.The usage of P3 HT as the HTL indeed significantly mitigates the imbalance of carrier injection in NIR QLEDs.With the additional incorporation of an interlayer of poly[9,9-bis(3’-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-flourene]-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)],P3 HT obviously improves the performance of NIR QLEDs.As electroluminescent synaptic devices,these NIR QLEDs exhibit important synaptic functionalities such as short-and long-term plasticity,and may be employed for image recognition.

Advances in Polymethine Dyes for Near-Infrared Organic Photodiodes

Near-infrared organic photodiodes (NIR OPDs) have tremendous potential in industrial, military, and scientific applications, due to their unique features of lightweight, low toxicity, high structural flexibility, cooling-system-free, etc. However, the overall performance of currently available NIR OPDs still lags behind the commercial inorganic photodetectors, ascribed to the critical challenge of realizing organic semiconductors with sufficiently low optical bandgap and excellent optoelectronic properties simultaneously. Among various types of NIR-absorbing organic semiconductors, polymethine dyes not only possess advantages of simple synthesis and structural diversity, but also show fascinating optical and aggregation features in the solid state, making them attractive material candidates for NIR OPDs. In this review, after a brief introduction of NIR OPDs and polymethine dyes, we comprehensively summarize the advances of polymethine dyes for broadband and narrowband NIR OPDs, and further introduce their applications in all-organic optical upconversion devices and photoplethysmography sensors. In particular, the relationship between the chemical structure and the aggregation behaviors of polymethine dyes and the device performance is carefully discussed, providing some important molecular insights for developing high performance NIR OPDs.

A Novel Approach to Measure the Total Antioxidant Power of Wines through Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Its Relevance in Human Nutrition

Wine is the product of the alcoholic fermentation of the grape (Vitis vinifera). As such, it is a hydroalcoholic solution with a variable content of nutritional and functional (polyphenols) molecules, the latter involved in its antioxidant potential. The organoleptic variables of wine, together with its potential positive effects on health of a light-moderate intake, have always been topics of great interest within the cultures. In the label of wine, alcohol is the only declared variable. On the other hand, there is no information about the content of “positive” molecules, such as those associated with the antioxidant power. This value could be very important to classify the wines, helping oenologist and nutritionist in qualifying them as a component of Mediterranean diet. Moreover, one of the most critical aspects in evaluating the role of wine in human health through epidemiological prospective studies is the quality of the products used and their antioxidant potential. This research aimed to optimize and validate an analytical approach based on a portable device (SCIO?), using NIRS (near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy). It allows the measure of TAP (total antioxidant power) of wine through the glass. Research findings are promising. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that an easy-to-use and cheap hand-held scanner is validated to measure the TAP of a beverage.