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Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences
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Fluorescent dye nano-assemblies by thiol attachment directed to the tips of gold nanorods for effective emission enhancement
Publication . Botequim, David; Silva, Inês I. R.; Serra, Sofia G.; EP, Melo; Prazeres, Duarte M. F.; Costa, Sílvia M. B.; Paulo, Pedro M. R.
The conjugation of dye-labelled DNA oligonucleotides with gold nanorods has been widely explored for the development of multifunctional fluorescent nanoprobes. Here, we show that the functionalization route is crucial to achieve enhanced emission in dye nano-assemblies based on gold nanorods. By using a tip-selective approach for thiol attachment of dye molecules onto gold nanorods, it was possible to effectively increase the emission by more than 10-fold relatively to that of a free dye. On the other hand, a non-selective approach revealed that indiscriminate surface functionalization has a detrimental effect on the enhancement. Simulations of discrete dipole approximation gave further insight into the surface distribution of plasmon-enhanced emission by confirming that tip regions afford an effective enhancement, while side regions exhibit a negligible effect or even emission quenching. The contrast between dye nano-assemblies obtained from tip- and non-selective functionalization was further characterized by single-particle fluorescence emission. These studies showed that tip-functionalized gold nanorods with an average of only 30 dye molecules have a comparable to or even stronger emission than non-selectively functionalized particles with approximately 10 times more dye molecules. The results herein reported could significantly improve the performance of dye nano-assemblies for imaging or sensing applications.
Advanced nanotherapeutic strategies transforming diabetic wound healing
Publication . Ramos, Filipa; Kumar, Girish; Virmani, Tarun; Sharma, Abhishek; Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Fonte, Pedro
Due to their high recurrence rates and slow healing, diabetic wounds are becoming a greater public health concern [Citation1]. Each year, 1.6 million cases of diabetic wounds occur in the United States alone, affecting approximately 18.6 million people worldwide [Citation2]. Because of poor cellular regeneration, increased inflammation, and reduced angiogenesis, traditional treatments like debridement, antibiotics, and dressings usually do not work [Citation3]. To overcome the limitations of traditional treatments, there is now a significant demand for advanced therapeutic modalities that promise accurate, efficient, and rapid healing processes [Citation4]. These include microneedles (MNs), exosomes, tetrahedral framework nucleic acids (tFNAs), three-dimensional scaffolds, gene therapy, oxygen-releasing biomaterials, phototherapies, and nanozymes.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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6817 - DCRRNI ID
Número da atribuição
UID/BIO/04565/2019