Ability of Innate Defence Regulator Peptides IDR-1002, IDR-HH2 and IDR-1018 to Protect against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infections in Animal Models

Tuberculosis is an ongoing threat to global health, especially with the emergence of multi drug-resistant (MDR) and extremely drug-resistant strains that are motivating the search for new treatment strategies. One potential strategy is immunotherapy using Innate Defence Regulator (IDR) peptides that selectively modulate innate immunity, enhancing chemokine induction and cell recruitment while suppressing potentially harmful inflammatory responses. IDR peptides possess only modest antimicrobial activity but have profound immunomodulatory functions that appear to be influential in resolving animal model infections. The IDR peptides HH2, 1018 and 1002 were tested for their activity against two M. tuberculosis strains, one drug-sensitive and the other MDR in both in vitro and in vivo models. All peptides showed no cytotoxic activity and only modest direct antimicrobial activity versus M. tuberculosis (MIC of 15–30 µg/ml). Nevertheless peptides HH2 and 1018 reduced bacillary loads in animal models with both the virulent drug susceptible H37Rv strain and an MDR isolate and, especially 1018 led to a considerable reduction in lung inflammation as revealed by decreased pneumonia. These results indicate that IDR peptides have potential as a novel immunotherapy against TB.     

Effects of Nanoparticle Shape and Size on Optical Properties of LaB<Subscript>6</Subscript>

The optical response of lanthanum hexaboride (LaB₆) nanoparticles has been investigated by both theoretically and experimentally. The LaB₆ nanoparticles obtained by solid-state reaction could avoid serious surface oxidization and exhibit excellent optical performance. The discrete dipole approximation (DDA) has been used to investigate the optical response of LaB₆ nanoparticles with different sizes and different shapes. The calculation results coincide with the experimental results and reveal that the largest extinction peak value appears at 60 nm for cubic particles and 40 nm for spherical particles, respectively. Our calculation results show that the existence of the largest extinction peak value is not only due to the surface oxides but also relate to the particle shape of LaB₆ compound. In addition, the LaB₆ nanoparticles with cubic and spherical shapes exhibit different optical responses, and the cubic particles exhibit stronger near infrared (NIR) extinction than spherical particles. With increasing particle size, the extinction peak value of spherical particle decreases more rapidly than that of cubic ones.     

Tailoring of Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances of Core-Shell Au@Ag Nanorods by Changing the Thickness of Ag Shell

We report the synthesis and the characterization of core-shell Au@Ag nanorods through reduction by the wet chemical method. UV-visible absorption spectra of core-shell Au@Ag nanorods demonstrate the longitudinal mode of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) can be tailored from 724 to 786 nm by controlling the thickness of the silver shell, as is assessed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Furthermore, the tunable and well-controlled LSPRs of core-shell Au@Ag nanorods are also investigated by numerical simulation using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method, which strongly supports the experimental observations. The growth mechanism for core-shell Au@Ag nanorods is proposed, according to experimental observations and numerical calculations.     

Analysis of Mid-Infrared Surface Plasmon Modes in a Graphene-Based Cylindrical Hybrid Waveguide

A graphene-based cylindrical hybrid surface plasmon polariton waveguide, composed of a silicon nanowire core surrounded by a silica layer and then a graphene layer, is investigated using the finite-difference time-domain method. The analytical solutions and the numerical simulation show that an ultra-small mode area and a large propagation length can be achieved with this waveguide. Utilizing the perturbation theory of coupled mode, we demonstrate that the six lowest-order coupling modes originate from the coupling of the three lowest-order single-waveguide modes, and the m?=?1 order yy-coupling mode possesses the maximum coupling length and the minimum crosstalk. This waveguide can be used for photonic integrated circuits in the mid-infrared range.     

Magnetic-Based Fano Resonance by a Trimer with Y-shaped Gap

We introduce a Y-shaped gap into a silver disk to break the structure symmetry which can be looked as a loop-linked structure. Magnetic resonances are excited by incident light when incident electric field is parallel to the trimer plane. Fano resonance is generated by the coupling between bright electric mode and dark magnetic mode. These resonances can be adjusted by tuning the gap size, the radius of trimer, and the position of Y-shaped gap. The extinction cross section of the structure is calculated with the finite element method (FEM). The maximum figure of merit (FOM) is 37.8. Both the magnetic and electric field are greatly enhanced at the Fano dip and the magnetic resonance peak.     

Common Metal-Dielectric-Metal Nanocavities for Multispectral Narrowband Light Absorption

We present a method to theoretically achieve multispectral narrowband light absorption in common metal-dielectric-metal nanocavities. Polarization-independent and wide-angle multi-band light absorption with absorbance up to 99 % is achieved owing to the excitation of multiple localized plasmon cavity modes. Strong interactions between plasmon resonances and photonic modes are further introduced for achieving sharp absorption spectrum with sub-10-nm bandwidth via a high-index dielectric spacer with a thickness exceeding λ/2. These findings can offer new perspectives for multispectral nano-optics devices including perfect light absorbers and subtractive polychromatic filters.     

Heat Treatment and β-Carotene Incorporation Effect in the Interaction of β-Lactoglobulin and Carboxymethylcellulose System

Encapsulation technologies using proteins or polysaccharides can be employed with the purpose of solubilizing and protecting carotenoids. However, information on the role of protein and polysaccharide interactions is still slightly limited. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of β-carotene linked to protein β-lactoglobulin (BLG) in the interaction carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Firstly, BLG and CMC interaction was assessed by means of turbidity analysis. Based on the results of turbidity, the thermodynamic profile of BLG-CMC complexes at pH 4.0 was obtained using ITC analysis at 25 °C. Afterward, it was evaluated the effect of a thermal treatment applied to the BLG (68 °C for 50 min) in the interaction with CMC also using ITC and circular dichroism (CD). ITC and CD analysis showed that the heat treatment applied on BLG did not cause changes in molecular interactions. The binding isotherm of BLG-CMC complexes incorporated with β-carotene showed an increase in the molar ratio and a slight decrease in enthalpy of the system. Incorporation of β-carotene in the system did not significantly affect the BLG and CMC interaction, suggesting this system can be applied in food application as encapsulation.     

Flow Behavior of Native Corn and Potato Starch Granules in Aqueous Suspensions

The flow behavior of native corn and potato starch granule suspensions prepared in a concentrated sucrose solution has been investigated. Measurements were performed using a rotational rheometer with a concentric cylinder geometry. Starch suspensions were dilute to semi-concentrated (1 % to 25 % by volume). Shear and dynamic viscosity were measured by shear flow and dynamic oscillatory testing at 20, 50 and 80 °C. The starch suspensions exhibited essentially Newtonian behavior at all solid contents, although at higher solid volume fractions there was evidence of slight shear thickening. The relative viscosity of suspensions increased with increasing starch granule content, and the data conformed well to Maron-Pierce’s equation. An increase in maximum packing fraction and gravitational depletion of the starch granules with increasing temperature resulted in lower relative viscosities at higher temperatures. Also, the relative viscosities of potato starch granule suspensions with bigger, more oval and anisometric particles were lower than those of corn starch suspensions where granules were closer to sphericity but were angular in shape. Oscillatory shear testing results showed the presence of viscoelastic properties at intermediate solid volume fractions at low frequencies; in addition, the relative shear viscosity was higher than the relative dynamic viscosity, probably due to the formation of shear-induced structures during the shear flow test.     

Optical Response of Plasmonic Nanohole Arrays: Comparison of Square and Hexagonal Lattices

Nanohole arrays in metal films allow extraordinary optical transmission (EOT); the phenomenon is highly advantageous for biosensing applications. In this article, we theoretically investigate the performance of refractive index sensors, utilizing square and hexagonal arrays of nanoholes, that can monitor the spectral position of EOT signals. We present near- and far-field characteristics of the aperture arrays and investigate the influence of geometrical device parameters in detail. We numerically compare the refractive index sensitivities of the two lattice geometries and show that the hexagonal array supports larger figure-of-merit values due to its sharper EOT response. Furthermore, the presence of a thin dielectric film that covers the gold surface and mimics a biomolecular layer causes larger spectral shifts within the EOT resonance for the hexagonal array. We also investigate the dependence of the transmission responses on hole radius and demonstrate that hexagonal lattice is highly promising for applications demanding strong light transmission.     

Broad Tunable Nanoantenna Based on Graphene Log-Periodic Toothed Structure

A log-periodic toothed nanoantenna based on graphene is proposed, and its multi-resonance properties with respect to the variations of the chemical potential are investigated. The field enhancement and radar cross-section of the antenna for different chemical potentials are calculated, and the effect of the chemical potential on the resonance frequency is analyzed. In addition, the dependence of the resonance frequency on the substrate is also discussed. It is shown that large modulation of resonance intensity in log-periodic toothed nanoantenna can be achieved via turning the chemical potential of graphene. The tunability of the resonant frequencies of the antenna can be used to broad tuning of spectral features. The property of tunable multi-resonant field enhancement has great prospect in the field of graphene-based broadband nanoantenna, which can be applied in non-linear spectroscopy, optical sensor, and near-field optical microscopy.