No abstract

Rapid healing of dermatological wounds is of vital importance in preventing infection and reducing post-treatment side-effects. Here we report the therapeutic effects of phytochemically stabilized gold nanoparticles (pAuNPs) coated on a hydrocolloid membrane (HCM) for curing cutaneous wounds. Furthermore, the remedial effects of pAuNPs on skin regeneration and angiogenesis were examined using Sprague Dawley® (SD) rats with skin injuries after a pAuNP-deposited hydrocolloid membrane (pAuNP-HCM) had been applied for 15 days. The rate of wound closure was 4 times faster in the pAuNP-HCM-treated group than in the gauze (GZ)- or HCM-treated groups in the first 5 days. Moreover, wound widths in the pAuNP-HCM-treated group were significantly reduced after 5-15 days of treatment following the injury, compared with the other groups. In addition, a significant increase in collagen expression and a decrease in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 expression and transforming growth factor (TGF-β1) concentration were observed in the pAuNP-HCM-treated group on day 5. Wound tissue applied with the pAuNP-HCM showed enhancement of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiopoietin 1 (Ang-1), and angiopoietin 2 (Ang-2) expression. Furthermore, the activity of superoxide dismutases (SODs) was significantly increased in the skin tissue of the pAuNP-HCM-treated group, compared with the GZ- or HCM-treated groups. It is probable that the accelerated process of wound healing in the injured skin of SD rats via pAuNP-HCM results from the synergistic regulation of angiogenesis and connective tissue formation, as well as the stimulation of antioxidant effects.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a relevant infectious disease in the 21st century, and its extermination is still far from being attained. Due to the extreme infectivity of incipient TB patients, a rapid sensing system for proficient point-of-care (POC) diagnostics is required. In our study, a plastic-chip-based magnetophoretic immunoassay (pcMPI) is introduced using magnetic and gold nanoparticles (NPs) modified with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) antibodies. This pcMPI offers an ultrasensitive limit of detection (LOD) of 1.8 pg·ml(-1) for the detection of CFP-10, an MTB-secreted antigen, as a potential TB biomarker with high specificity. In addition, by combining the plastic chip with an automated spectrophotometer setup, advantages include ease of operation, rapid time to results (1 h), and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the pcMPI results using clinical sputum culture filtrate samples are competitively compared with and integrated with clinical data collected from conventional tools such as the acid-fast bacilli (AFB) test, mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and physiological results. CFP-10 concentrations were consistently higher in patients diagnosed with MTB infection than those seen in patients infected with nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) (P < 0.05), and this novel test can distinguish MTB and NTM while MGIT cannot. All these results indicate that this pcMPI has the potential to become a new commercial TB diagnostic POC platform in view of its sensitivity, portability, and affordability.