Aptamer-Based DNA Materials for the Separation and Analysis of Biological Particles

DNA is a biological macromolecule that carries genetic information in organisms.It provides a series of predominant bio-logical advantages,such as sequence programmability,high biocompatibility,and low biotoxicity.As such,it is a unique polymer material that shows great potential for application in biological and medical fields.DNA aptamers are short DNA sequences with a specific ability of molecular recognition.With its discovery,the application prospect of DNA materials has broadened,especially for the separation and analysis of biological particles.In this review,the functions and characteristics of DNA aptamers are introduced,and the applications of DNA materials in cell/exosome separation and cancer detection are summarized.The application prospect and possible challenges of DNA materials are predicted.

Identification of coexistence of biological and non-biological aerosol particles with DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) stain

The fluorescent dye 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) has been widely used to stain microorganisms in various environment media. We applied DAPI fluorescence enumeration to airborne microorganisms and found that non-biological particles, including organic compounds, minerals, and soot, were also visible upon exposure to UV excitation under fluorescence microscope. Using laboratory-prepared biological particles as the control, we investigated the feasibility of identifying both biological and non-biological particles in the same sample with DAPI staining. We prepared biological (bacterial, fungi, and plant detritus) and non-biological (biochar, soot, mineral, metal, fly ash, salt) particles in the laboratory and enumerated the particles and their mixture with DAPI. We found that mineral particles were transparent, and biochar, soot, metals and fly ash particles were black under a filter set at excitation 350/50 nm and emission 460/50 nm bandpass (DAPI-BP), while biological particles were blue, as expected. Particles of the water-soluble salts NaCl and (NH_(4))_(2)SO_(4) were yellow under a filter set at excitation 340–380 nm and emission 425 nm long pass (DAPI-LP). Case studies with samples of dustfall, atmospheric aerosols and surface soils could allow for the quantification of the relative number of different types of particles and particles with organic matter or salt coating as well. Fluorescence enumeration with DAPI stain is thus able to identify the co-existence of biological and non-biological particles in the air, at least to the extent of those examined in this study.

Arbitrary direction incident Gaussian beam scattering by multispheres

Based on spherical vector wave functions and their coordinate rotation theory, the field of a Gaussian beam in terms of the spherical vector wave functions in an arbitrary unparallel Cartesian coordinate system is expanded. The beam shape coefficient and its convergence property are discussed in detail. Scattering of an arbitrary direction Gaussian beam by multiple homogeneous isotropic spheres is investigated. The effects of beam waist width, sphere separation distance, sphere number, beam centre positioning, and incident angle for a Gaussian beam with two polarization modes incident on various shaped sphere clusters are numerically studied. Moreover, the scattering characteristics of two kinds of shaped red blood cells illuminated by an arbitrary direction incident Gaussian beam with two polarization modes are investigated. Our results are expected to provide useful insights into particle sizing and the measurement of the scattering characteristics of blood corpuscle particles with laser diagnostic techniques.

Analysis of extinction characteristics of non-spherical biological particle aggregates [Invited]

In this study,a method was presented to accurately obtain the extinction characteristics of the non-spherical biological particle aggregates.Based on the multi-sphere particle model of non-spherical particles,a randomly oriented aggregation model was firstly built to construct the aggregates.The discrete-dipole approximation method was used to calculate the extinction characteristics of aggregates in the 3–14 μm waveband.The average mass extinction coefficients of three materials are 0.802 m~2/g,0.907 m~2/g,and 0.866 m~2/g in the 3–5 μm waveband and 0.590 m~2/g,0.402 m~2/g,and 0.523 m~2/g in the8–14 μm band,respectively.Smoke chamber experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical analyses.

Design and experiment on atomizer parameter of impinging low-speed centrifugal atomization sprayer

Atomizers were designed with different atomization parameters to obtain droplets that satisfy optimal particle size requirements for an impinging-type low-speed centrifugal atomizing sprayer.The main factors affecting droplet size are turntable speed,the number of teeth and the tooth shape of the toothed disc.Winner318 software was used to evaluate droplet sizes for different structures and the working parameters of the atomizer.The response surface method and Design-Expert were used to analyze the effect of each factor.The response surface analysis of the effect of structural and working parameters of the atomizer on the interaction between the volume medium diameter of the droplet and the spectral width of the droplet size was used to establish the atomizer droplet Granular spectrum prediction model.Optimal design fitting formulas are obtained,and the droplet sizes required for pesticides to control flying insect pests,to control the growth of reptile larvae,and the use of spraying fungicides to prevent crop damage were determined.This research provides a product not only similar to those in the market,but also the theoretical basis and references for innovation,development,and optimization of centrifugal atomization technology.