Limited access to hands-on laboratory equipment remains a significant barrier to effective science education. To address this challenge, we evaluated the analytical performance of the Doctor Vida® Education platform - an ultra-compact, low-cost, multifunctional analytical device designed under the ‘One Student–One Apparatus’ (1S1A) model. Using the Bradford method, we quantified total protein in urine and serum samples and compared results against those obtained from a commercial CLARIOstar® microplate reader. Calibration curves constructed from eight independent replicates revealed comparable slopes and intercepts between the two systems, with Doctor Vida® Education device demonstrating high linearity and repeatability. Despite the CLARIOstar® achieving lower limits of detection and quantification, the Doctor Vida® Education device showed superior reproducibility, with consistently lower relative standard deviations across operators and experimental conditions. Statistical analysis of urine and serum measurements confirmed strong agreement between methods, with no significant differences in most samples and improved precision observed with Doctor Vida® Education device in serum analysis. With a unit cost below 1000 €, the Doctor Vida® Education device platform proves to be a reliable, robust, and accessible solution for individualized, competence-based learning in analytical sciences.
SARS-CoV-2 bio-surveillance at all levels is crucial for understanding its genetic evolution and vaccine effectiveness.This study investigated the emergence and evolution of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in the city of Puducherry, India throughout the three peaks of infection. A total of 128 samples were subjected to Illumina deep RNA sequencing. The results indicate that the first wave was dominated by uncommon variants, the second by Delta, and the third by Omicron. Lineages B.1.560 and B.1.617.2 were most prevalent. Analysis of 3133 common and 11 new mutations revealed Spike_D614G as the most common mutation and a novel set of mutations was observed in NS16, a key immune evasion factor. These NS16 mutations raise concerns about increased virulence, reduced vaccine efficacy, and potential antiviral resistance, warranting further investigation. Our findings contribute to SARS-CoV-2 evolutionary and genetic epidemiology research and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance to anticipate future variant threats.
A comparative urinary proteomic analysis using the Total Protein Approach (TPA) revealed distinct protein abundance profiles between patients with muscle-invasive (MIBC) and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), suggesting potential diagnostic utility. Notably, several proteins, including periostin (POSTN), immunoglobulin variable regions (IGLV3-21, IGHV3-49, IGHV5-51), and complement regulator (C4BPB), were found at significantly higher concentrations in the urine of MIBC patients. These findings support their value as non-invasive indicators of tumour aggressiveness. The TPA-based urinary protein signature holds promise for improving early risk stratification, detecting biological features associated with invasive disease, and may inform treatment strategies.
The onset of the global pandemic caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wuhan in December 2019 has led to an urgent need for effective preventive and therapeutic solutions. Among the various approaches explored, natural products have shown potential in the fight against COVID-19. This study employed computational techniques to screen and evaluate six natural antiviral compounds for their effectiveness against the SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (Mpro). By using molecular docking simulations, the interactions between these natural compounds and the target proteins were predicted and analyzed, focusing on factors such as binding affinity, interaction patterns, and structural compatibility within the active sites. The analysis indicated that Cladosin C and Rhodatin formed the most stable interactions with Mpro, engaging with several critical residues. Cannabidiol, Capsaicin, and Kappa-Carrageenan also demonstrated promising interactions, though with some variability. On the other hand, Astaxanthin exhibited the least stable binding, suggesting limited antiviral potential. This research provides insights into the possible roles of these natural compounds as antagonists of the SARS-CoV-2 Mpro enzyme. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are necessary to confirm the antiviral properties of these compounds, and future research should investigate their broader antiviral applications.
Background: Apple pomace has garnered significant attention within the life sciences domain due to its underutilized status as a waste material from apple processing. It represents a cost-effective and abundant source of triterpene acids due to its multifunctional clinical, nutritional, and pharmaceutical benefits. Purpose: The present study aimed to develop and validate a new, selective, effective, robust and reproducible laboratory methodology based on extraction, purification and analytical procedures to obtain and determining three major triterpene acids – Ursolic acid (UA), Oleanolic acid (OA) and Betulinic acid (BA) into the dry extracted product from apple pomace. Method: A new, cost-efficient, rapid, selective and high-yield two-stage ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure was developed and the effect of critical parameters: ultrasonic power, extraction time, solvent volume, temperature, and the amount of raw material on the extraction process were investigated. The dry column vacuum chromatography technique was used for purification to remove unwanted non-polar and polar impurities from the target bioactive compounds; A new, effective, specific, sensitive, and rapid HPLC analytical procedure was developed using analytical quality by design (AQbD) approach and validated according to ICH guidelines. Conclusion: The method has a good accuracy (the mean recovery >95 %) and linearity (R2>0.999). The limit of quantitation (LOQ) is 0.0001 mg/mL for UA, 0.00005 mg/mL for OA and 0.000025 mg/mL for BA. The validation results confirm that the method is specific, precise and robust. The purity of the extracted and purified target product from apple pomace is not less than 93 %. The developed laboratory methodology is capable of being considered for industrial purposes and through the appropriate technology transfer process can be successfully transferred to the industrial scale.
Journal of Integrated OMICS, JIOMICS, provides a forum for the publication of original research papers, preliminary communications, technical notes and critical reviews in all branches of pure and applied "-omics", such as genomics, proteomics, lipidomics, metabolomics or metallomics.The manuscripts must address methodological development.Contributions are evaluated based on established guidelines, including the fundamental nature of the study, scientific novelty, and substantial improvement or advantage over existing technology or method.Original research papers on fundamental studies, and novel sensor and instrumentation development, are especially encouraged.It is expected that improvements will also be demonstrated within the context of (or with regard to) a specific biological question; ability to promote the analysis of molecular mechanisms is of particular interest.Novel or improved applications in areas such as clinical, medicinal and biological chemistry, environmental analysis, pharmacology and materials science and engineering are welcome.
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 precipitated the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which swiftly spread across more than 214 countries and territories, posing a significant global health crisis. In response, laboratories worldwide have embarked on extensive efforts to characterize the genomic landscape of the virus, employing a myriad of sophisticated genomic analysis techniques. This study endeavors to undertake a comprehensive exploration into the genetic diversity, geographical distribution, and virulence determinants of SARS-CoV-2 clades across 11 diverse countries, employing advanced computational biology methodologies. Leveraging molecular data sourced from prominent international databases, the analysis aims to unravel the intricate phylogenetic relationships and mutational dynamics exhibited by various viral strains circulating worldwide. The findings of this investigation promise to yield invaluable insights into the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets and informing strategies for mitigating the impact of the ongoing pandemic on global public health. Results highlight significant genetic diversity among SARS-CoV-2 strains across different countries, with phylogenetic analysis revealing distinct subclass groupings within each country. A manual comparison of sequences identified numerous mutations, with certain mutations associated with increased virulence. Comparison of clade G and clade O sequences revealed differences in mutation profiles, suggesting potential links to virulence and transmissibility. These findings underscore the dynamic nature of SARS-CoV-2 evolution and the importance of monitoring genetic changes for public health interventions.
Assessing total protein levels in biological samples is a common procedure in biochemistry and molecular biology. In this study, we compare tryptophan fluorescence (WF) with Bradford and BCA assays to determine total protein in serum samples. Our results indicate that tryptophan fluorescence spectrometry is an efficient, sensitive, and straightforward technique for quantifying proteins in serum. We observed minimal variation between the three methods: BCA de one with the lowers LOD and LOQ. The tryptophan method offers the possibility of reusing the intact sample that does not need colourimetric reagents for quantification. Consequently, free tryptophan serves as a reliable universal standard. This assay can be performed using a conventional fluorescence spectrometer with cuvettes or in a 96-well plate format with a plate reader. The method was successfully used as proof of concept, using serum from patients diagnosed with myeloma and serum from healthy donors.
Journal of Integrated OMICS, JIOMICS, provides a forum for the publication of original research papers, preliminary communications, technical notes and critical reviews in all branches of pure and applied "-omics", such as genomics, proteomics, lipidomics, metabolomics or metallomics.The manuscripts must address methodological development.Contributions are evaluated based on established guidelines, including the fundamental nature of the study, scientific novelty, and substantial improvement or advantage over existing technology or method.Original research papers on fundamental studies, and novel sensor and instrumentation development, are especially encouraged.It is expected that improvements will also be demonstrated within the context of (or with regard to) a specific biological question; ability to promote the analysis of molecular mechanisms is of particular interest.Novel or improved applications in areas such as clinical, medicinal and biological chemistry, environmental analysis, pharmacology and materials science and engineering are welcome.
No abstract needed for Letters to the Editor.
This is a letter to the editor so there is no astract.
At a time when Universities closed their doors to research during the COVID-19 pandemic out of safety concerns, researchers endured and even thrived.While some faculty and graduate students used this closure time to write review papers, grants, or develop research plans for their specific fields of interest, many academic researchers turned towards computational modeling to solve COVID problems.Although we all knew that computational modelling can be done at home, not requiring access to University research labs, we did not realize how helpful computational modelling would be to find solutions for COVID-19.3 years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that computational modeling significantly helped us get through .From using molecular dynamics to understand binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the ACE2 receptor of mammalian cells during the virus replication process to optimizing the design of small molecules to bind to the envelop protein of SARS-CoV-2 to stop it from replicating, the field of computational modeling was critical at a time when academic research labs were unavailable [4].Further, adsorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) computational modeling was also instrumental towards understanding the pharmacological properties of COVID therapies and vaccines [8].Without such advances in computational modeling made throughout the decades, it is clear that we would not have the COVID-19 solutions that we have today, including COVID prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.Our personal story includes one of frustration then exultation where upon the onset of COVID-19 in the Fall of 2019 and Spring of 2020, we believed as scientists it was our
Background: SARS-CoV-2 virus is currently one of the main causes of death worldwide. Several studies have suggested that various trace elements play a vital role in the immune activity during viral infection, being an important tool to understand the SARS-CoV-2 infection and its systemic behavior, which affects different organs. Purpose: To summarize recent studies that report the effect of trace elements on the immune system and their role in fighting SARS-CoV-2 infection, presenting potential biochemical routes. Method: The main databases (ScienceDirect®, Scopus®, PubMed®) were consulted to search for works published up to October 2022, focusing on the role of trace elements in the immune activity against viral infection, including SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: Many elements can act both in the activation of the host’s immune activity and in the survival of the virus since these processes occur with the participation of essential metals to guarantee the integrity of their functions. However, the relationship between trace elements and viral infection is complex, and requires further studies, mainly, focusing on the systemic behavior of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi are the filarial worms belonging to phylum Nematoda and cause lymphatic filariasis (LF) disease in humans. W. bancrofti and B. malayi are Wolbachia dependent organisms while C. elegans is free living Wolbachia independent nematode. In order to investigate the conserved regions present in the mitochondrial genome of these organisms, the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of W. bancrofti and B. malayi having size 13,636 bp and 13,657 bp in length, respectively are compared with C. elegans (13794 bp). These mt genomes were similar to each other in respect of their size, AT content and encode the same 12 PCGs (nad1–6, nad4L, cytb, cox1–3, and atp6). Complete mt genome alignment identified 13 conserved regions in each of the organisms with some of these regions unique only to one organism. Phylogenetic analysis using the mt genome showed a close relationship between W. bancrofti and B. malayi but showed a common early ancestor with the C. elegans emphasizing an early evolutionary divergence.
José L. Capelo *, Carlos Lodeiro, Rajiv Dhir, Nataly Kravchenko-Balasha, Hugo M. Santos* 1 (Bio)Chemistry & Omics, BIOSCOPE Research Group, LAQV-REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal; 2 PROTEOMASS Scientific Society, Madan Parque, Rua dos Inventores, 2825-182 Caparica, Portugal; 3 Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; 4 Department for Bio-medical Research, Institute of Dental Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91120, Israel
