Publications

The interaction of the neuronal protein α-synuclein with lipid membranes appears crucial in the context of Parkinson’s disease, but the underlying mechanistic details, including the roles of different lipids in pathogenic protein aggregation and membrane disruption, remain elusive. Here, we used single-vesicle resolution fluorescence and label-free scattering microscopy to investigate the interaction kinetics of monomeric α-synuclein with surface-tethered vesicles composed of different negatively charged lipids.[...]

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have the ability to function as molecular vehicles and could therefore be harnessed to deliver drugs to target cells in diseases such as cancer. The composition of EVs determines their function as well as their interactions with cells, which consequently affects the cell uptake efficacy of EVs.[...]

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have seen a fast development as drug delivery carriers thanks to their tunable porosity and high loading capacity. The employ of MSNs in biomedical applications requires a good understanding of their degradation behavior both to control drug release and to assess possible toxicity issues on human health.[...]

The therapeutic potential of human mesenchymal stromal cells (h‐MSC) is dependent on the viability and secretory capacity of cells both modulated by the culture environment. Our previous studies introduced heparin and collagen I (HEP/COL) alternating stacked layers as a potential substrate to enhance the secretion of immunosuppressive factors of h‐MSCs. [...]

Folic acid is a bioactive food component whose deficiency can lead to a variety of health problems, while a high intake of folic acid can reduce the cytotoxicity of natural killer cells. The binding mechanism of folic acid to free bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied using fluorescence, while the biomolecular interaction between confined-BSA and free folic acid was assessed by electrochemical methods and surface plasmon resonance. [...]

A Kretschmann-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing method was used to determine the refractive index and thickness of graphene thin films. The measured complex refractive index (n,k) values of graphene on Au at 670 nm and 785 nm wavelength are 2.85, 0.74 and 3.1, 1.19 respectively. In further analysis, the analysis of sensing performance of graphene on Au SPR sensor for ethanol detection was obtained using Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method.[...]

We have utilized multiparametric surface plasmon resonance and impendance-based quartz crystal microbalance instruments to study the distribution coefficients of catechol derivatives in cell model membranes. Our findings verify that the octanol–water partitioning coefficient is a poor descriptor of the total lipid affinity for small molecules which show limited lipophilicity in the octanol–water system.[...]

We report a straightforward route for the preparation of flexible, electrochemically stable and easily functionalizable poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) composite films deposited on PET foils as biosensing platforms. For this purpose, poly(allylamine) hydrochloride (PAH) was blended with PEDOT to provide amine-bearing sites for further biofunctionalization as well as to improve the mechanical properties of the films.[...]

The vitreous humor is the first barrier encountered by intravitreally injected nanoparticles. Lipid-based nanoparticles in the vitreous are studied by evaluating their diffusion with single-particle tracking technology and by characterizing their protein coronae with surface plasmon resonance and high-resolution proteomics. Single-particle tracking results indicate that the vitreal mobility of the formulations is dependent on their charge.[...]

Polymer brushes not only represent emerging surface platforms for numerous bioanalytical and biological applications but also create advanced surface-tethered systems to mimic real-life biological processes. In particular, zwitterionic and nonionic polymer brushes have been intensively studied because of their extraordinary resistance to nonspecific adsorption of biomolecules (antifouling characteristics) as well as the ability to be functionalized with bioactive molecules.[...]

In this study, the physicochemical characterization of lysozyme adsorbed on gold was investigated. Through the use of MP-SPR it was possible to establish that the orientation of molecules changes from side-on to between or end-on with increasing surface coverage.[...]

Hsp70 is a conserved molecular chaperone. How Hsp70 exhibits specialized functions across species remains to be understood. Plasmodium falciparum Hsp70-1 (PfHsp70-1) and Escherichia coli DnaK are cytosol localized molecular chaperones that are important for the survival of these two organisms. [...]

Thebaine 6-O-demethylase (T6ODM) is an Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase catalysing two oxidative O-demethylation reactions in morphine biosynthesis. Its crystal structure revealed a large active site pocket which is at least two times larger than necessary to accommodate a substrate (thebaine or oripavine) molecule.[...]

The capabilities of biosensors for fast, economic, and user-friendly analysis of complex samples has led to the exploitation of analytical devices for detection, quantification, and monitoring of specific chemical species for various applications. For a sufficiently high surface reactivity toward the adopted bioreceptors, a thin functional layer is required to enable coupling of the target biomolecules and to provide good stability in the presence of a sample matrix.[...]

We present a polyelectrolyte brush electrode with high-capacity for protein immobilization that captures and releases proteins by an electrochemical potential. Central to our concept is the use of polyelectrolyte brushes that switch reversibly by electrochemistry.[...]

Thiolated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are typically used to anchor on a gold surface biomolecules serving as recognition elements for biosensor applications. Here, the design and synthesis of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-mercaptopropanamide (NMPA) in biotinylated mixed SAMs is proposed as an alternative strategy with respect to on-site multistep functionalization of SAMs prepared from solutions of commercially available thiols.[...]

Enzyme immobilization is extensively studied to improve enzyme properties in catalysis and analytical applications. Here, we introduce a simple and versatile enzyme immobilization platform based on adhesion‐promoting peptides, namely Matter‐tags. Matter‐tags immobilize enzymes in an oriented way as a dense monolayer.[...]

In this work, we report the analytical detection of tartrazine through differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and Nickel(II)-phthalocyanine-tetrasulfonic (NiTsPc). The Layer-by-Layer (LbL) film was constructed following the Au-(AuNPs-PAH/NiTsPc)5 architecture.[...]

Methodological constraints have limited our ability to study protein corona formation, slowing nanomedicine development and their successful translation into the clinic. We determined hard and soft corona structural properties along with the corresponding proteomic compositions on liposomes in a label-free workflow: surface plasmon resonance and a custom biosensor for in situ structure determination on liposomes and corona separation, and proteomics using sensitive nanoliquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with open-source bioinformatics platforms.[...]

The sustained use of cosmetics, hygiene products and medicines containing methylparaben (MeP) can be related to cases of cancer in women and children, which is why it is important to develop simple ways to monitor this compound. Gold electrodes were modified with Layer-by-Layer (LbL) films of magnetite nanoparticles (MNP) and polypyrrole (Ppy) for electrochemical determination of MeP.[...]