Continual monitoring of secreted biomarkers from organ-on-a-chip models is desired to understand their responses to drug exposure in a noninvasive manner. To achieve this goal, analytical methods capable of monitoring trace amounts of secreted biomarkers are of particular interest. However, a majority of existing biosensing techniques suffer from limited sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and require large working volumes, especially when cell culture medium is involved, which usually contains a plethora of nonspecific binding proteins and interfering compounds. Hence, novel analytical platforms are needed to provide noninvasive, accurate information on the status of organoids at low working volumes. Here, we report a novel microfluidic aptamer-based electrochemical biosensing platform for monitoring damage to cardiac organoids. The system is scalable, low-cost, and compatible with microfluidic platforms easing its integration with microfluidic bioreactors. To create the creatine kinase (CK)-MB biosensor, the microelectrode was functionalized with aptamers that are specific to CK-MB biomarker secreted from a damaged cardiac tissue. Compared to antibody-based sensors, the proposed aptamer-based system was highly sensitive, selective, and stable. The performance of the sensors was assessed using a heart-on-a-chip system constructed from human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes following exposure to a cardiotoxic drug, doxorubicin. The aptamer-based biosensor was capable of measuring trace amounts of CK-MB secreted by the cardiac organoids upon drug treatments in a dose-dependent manner, which was in agreement with the beating behavior and cell viability analyses. We believe that, our microfluidic electrochemical biosensor using aptamer-based capture mechanism will find widespread applications in integration with organ-on-a-chip platforms for in situ detection of biomarkers at low abundance and high sensitivity.

Summary The prevalence of multidrug‐resistant microbial pathogens due to the continued misuse and overuse of antibiotics in agriculture and medicine is raising the prospect of a return to the preantibiotic days of medicine at the time of diminishing numbers of drug leads. The good news is that an increased understanding of the nature and extent of microbial diversity in natural habitats coupled with the application of new technologies in microbiology and chemistry is opening up new strategies in the search for new specialized products with therapeutic properties. This review explores the premise that harsh environmental conditions in extreme biomes, notably in deserts, permafrost soils and deep‐sea sediments select for micro‐organisms, especially actinobacteria, cyanobacteria and fungi, with the potential to synthesize new druggable molecules. There is evidence over the past decade that micro‐organisms adapted to life in extreme habitats are a rich source of new specialized metabolites. Extreme habitats by their very nature tend to be fragile hence there is a need to conserve those known to be hot‐spots of novel gifted micro‐organisms needed to drive drug discovery campaigns and innovative biotechnology. This review also provides an overview of microbial‐derived molecules and their biological activities focusing on the period from 2010 until 2018, over this time 186 novel structures were isolated from 129 representatives of microbial taxa recovered from extreme habitats.

The main protease (Mpro) of the newly emerged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was subjected to hyphenated pharmacophoric-based and structural-based virtual screenings using a library of microbial natural products (>24,000 compounds). Subsequent filtering of the resulted hits according to the Lipinski’s rules was applied to select only the drug-like molecules. Top-scoring hits were further filtered out depending on their ability to show constant good binding affinities towards the molecular dynamic simulation (MDS)-derived enzyme’s conformers. Final MDS experiments were performed on the ligand–protein complexes (compounds 1–12, Table S1) to verify their binding modes and calculate their binding free energy. Consequently, a final selection of six compounds (1–6) was proposed to possess high potential as anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug candidates. Our study provides insight into the role of the Mpro structural flexibility during interactions with the possible inhibitors and sheds light on the structure-based design of anti-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2.

The incorporation of nanomaterials in hydrogels (hydrated networks of crosslinked polymers) has emerged as a useful method for generating biomaterials with tailored functionality. With the available engineering approaches it is becoming much easier to fabricate nanocomposite hydrogels that display improved performance across an array of electrical, mechanical, and biological properties. In this review, we discuss the fundamental aspects of these materials as well as recent developments that have enabled their application. Specifically, we highlight synthesis and fabrication, and the choice of nanomaterials for multifunctionality as ways to overcome current material property limitations. In addition, we review the use of nanocomposite hydrogels within the framework of biomedical and pharmaceutical disciplines.

Rising progesterone (P4) levels in humans due to its overconsumption through hormonal therapy, food products, or drinking water can lead to many negative health effects. Thus, the simple and accurate assessment of P4 in both environmental and clinical samples is highly important to protect public health. In this work, we present the selection, identification, and characterization of ssDNA aptamers with high binding affinity to P4. The aptamers were selected in vitro from a single-stranded DNA library of 1.8 × 10(15) oligonucleotides showing dissociation constants (KD) in the low nanomolar range. The dissociation constant of the best aptamer, designated as P4G13, was estimated to be 17 nM by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as well as fluorometric assay. Moreover, the aptamer P4G13 did not show cross-reactivity to analogues similar to progesterone such as 17β-estradiol (E2) and norethisterone (NET). An impedimetric aptasensor for progesterone was then fabricated based on the conformational change of P4G13 aptamer, immobilized on the gold electrode by self-assembly, upon binding to P4, which results in an increase in electron transfer resistance. Aptamer-complementary DNA (cDNA) oligonucleotides were tested to maximize the signal gain of the aptasensor after binding with progesterone. Significant signal enhancement was observed when the aptamer hybridized with a short complementary sequence at specific site was used instead of pure aptamer. This signal gain is likely due to the more significant conformational change of the aptamer-cDNA than the pure aptamer upon binding with P4, as confirmed by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The developed aptasensor exhibited a linear range for concentrations of P4 from 10 to 60 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.90 ng/mL. Moreover, the aptasensor was applied in spiked tap water samples and showed good recovery percentages. The new selected progesterone aptamers can be exploited in further biosensing applications for environmental, clinical, and medical diagnostic purposes.

Biosensors are devices that combine a biological material with a suitable platform for detection of pathogenic organisms, carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or toxic chemicals or for reporting a biological effect. In recent years, an enormous number of different types of biosensors have been constructed and developed for several medical applications. The reason for that was primarily due to the numerous advantages and applications that can be offered by biosensors. This review article has been started with demonstrating the power of biosensor technologies versus analytical and conventional techniques. Subsequently, more emphasis has been added on the classification and the role of biosensors in several medical applications such as detection and monitoring of carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals, reporting of endocrine disrupting compounds, and detection of pathogenic organisms. The most common reporter genes used in biosensors engineering and construction have also been summarized. Prospective strategies and recommendations for the future construction of biosensors have been highlighted.

Since the COVID-19 disease caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared a pandemic, it has spread rapidly, causing one of the most serious outbreaks in the last century. Reliable and rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 are crucial to control and manage the outbreak. Here, a label-free square wave voltammetry-based biosensing platform for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal samples is reported. The sensor was constructed on screen-printed carbon electrodes coated with gold nanoparticles. The electrodes were functionalized using 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) which was used for the immobilization of an antibody against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N protein). The binding of the immunosensor with the N protein caused a change in the electrochemical signal. The detection was realised by measuring the change in reduction peak current of a redox couple using square wave voltammetry at 0.04 V versus Ag ref. electrode on the immunosensor upon binding with the N protein. The electrochemical immunosensor showed high sensitivity with a linear range from 1.0 pg.mL −1 to 100 ng.mL −1 and a limit of detection of 0.4 pg.mL −1 for the N protein in PBS buffer pH 7.4. Moreover, the immunosensor did not exhibit significant response with other viruses such as HCoV, MERS-CoV, Flu A and Flu B, indicating the high selectivity of the sensor for SARS-CoV-2. However, cross reactivity of the biosensor with SARS-CoV is indicated, which gives ability of the sensor to detect both SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. The biosensor was successfully applied to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical samples showing good correlation between the biosensor response and the RT-PCR cycle threshold values. We believe that the capability of miniaturization, low-cost and fast response of the proposed label-free electrochemical immunosensor will facilitate the point-of-care diagnosis of COVID 19 and help prevent further spread of infection.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a widespread disease caused by a mutation in the beta-globin gene that leads to the production of abnormal hemoglobin called hemoglobin S. The inheritance of the mutation could be homozygous or heterozygous combined with another hemoglobin mutation. SCD can be characterized by the presence of dense, sickled cells that causes hemolysis of blood cells, anemia, painful episodes, organ damage, and in some cases death. Early detection of SCD can help to reduce the mortality and manage the disease effectively. Therefore, different techniques have been developed to detect the sickle cell disease and the carrier states with high sensitivity and specificity. These techniques can be screening tests such as complete blood count, peripheral blood smears, and sickling test; confirmatory tests such as hemoglobin separation techniques; and genetic tests, which are more expensive and need to be done in centralized labs by highly skilled personnel. However, advanced portable point of care techniques have been developed to provide a low-cost, simple, and user-friendly device for detecting SCD, for instance coupling solubility tests with portable devices, using smartphone microscopic classifications, image processing techniques, rapid immunoassays, and sensor-based platforms. This review provides an overview of the current and emerging techniques for sickle cell disease detection and highlights the different potential methods that could be applied to help the early diagnosis of SCD.