Biological Sciences and Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

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Cellular and Molecular Immunology

Induction of human dendritic cell maturation by naïve and memory B-cell subsets requires different activation stimuli

MEDICAL MYCOLOGY

Two Aspergillus species, A. flavus and A. fumigatus - a comparative study of their conidial surface properties and immunological reactivities

A versatile and ultra-sensitive sensor platform based on lamellar Ti3C2Tx (MXene)-modified glassy carbon electrode has been developed for the detection of bromate (BrO3−) in water. MXene showed unique electrocatalytic properties towards effective BrO3− reduction and the developed sensor displayed a linear response for the BrO3− concentration from 50 nM to 5 $\mu$M with a detection limit of 41 nM. The catalytic reduction of BrO3− by MXene was assumed by an increase of the peak current and a shift to lower potential. Surface changes to MXene after electrocatalytic reduction of BrO3− was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The formation of trace TiO2 crystals at the surface of Ti3C2Tx during the electrochemical reduction of BrO3− have confirmed the redox reaction between BrO3− and MXene. Also the developed sensor showed excellent selectivity for BrO3− among other interfering ions. This work provides an evidence for the application of MXene as an effective platform for detection of water contaminants especially when its redox functionality can be utilized.

Sensors and Actuators, B: Chemical

Ultra-sensitive electrocatalytic detection of bromate in drinking water based on Nafion/Ti3C2Tx (MXene) modified glassy carbon electrode

We developed a highly sensitive and selective sensor based on the nanoprobe conjugates of catalytic nanoparticles and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) for the colorimetric detection of NF-$\kappa$B protein. The sensing mechanism takes advantage of the catalytic activity of nanoparticle surfaces and the specific binding of NF-$\kappa$B to a dsDNA sequence. In the presence of NF-$\kappa$B, the highly selective interactions between dsDNA and NF-$\kappa$B lead to the passivation of the catalytic nanoparticle surfaces, impeding the sodium borohydride-mediated reduction rate of 4-nitrophenol. The correlation between the NF-$\kappa$B concentration and the visualized reduction rate of 4-nitrophenol from yellow to colorless clearly demonstrates the highly quantitative nature of the sensor. Importantly, this sensor can conclusively detect concentrations as low as 6.39 pM of NF-$\kappa$B, which to best of our knowledge is the lowest limit of detection for a colorimetric NF-$\kappa$B detection system. The excellent sensitivity of this sensor relies on the high binding constant of NF-$\kappa$B to dsDNA and the catalytic activity of nanoparticle surfaces for the signal amplification. This sensor allows visual detection without the need for any spectrometric instrumentation. We also determined the various parameters such as the pH, temperature, incubation time and salt concentration for optimal NF-$\kappa$B-dsDNA interactions. Finally, we demonstrated the performance of the sensor with simulated sample analysis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry

Ultrasensitive colorimetric detection of NF-$\kappa$B protein at picomolar levels using target-induced passivation of nanoparticles

Nature

Indian researchers must resist predatory open-access journals

Resistance of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia to desiccation and their capacity to reach the alveoli are partly due to the presence of a hydrophobic layer composed of a protein from the hydrophobin family, called RodA, which covers the conidial surface. In A. fumigatus there are seven hydrophobins (RodA–RodG) belonging to class I and III. Most of them have never been studied. We constructed single and multiple hydrophobin-deletion mutants until the generation of a hydrophobin-free mutant. The phenotype, immunogenicity, and virulence of the mutants were studied. RODA is the most expressed hydrophobin in sporulating cultures, whereas RODB is upregulated in biofilm conditions and in vivo. Only RodA, however, is responsible for rodlet formation, sporulation, conidial hydrophobicity, resistance to physical insult or anionic dyes, and immunological inertia of the conidia. None of the hydrophobin plays a role in biofilm formation or its hydrophobicity. RodA is the only needed hydrophobin in A. fumigatus, conditioning the structure, permeability, hydrophobicity, and immune-inertia of the cell wall surface in conidia. Moreover, the defect of rodlets on the conidial cell wall surface impacts on the drug sensitivity of the fungus. © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Journal of Fungi

Role of hydrophobins in aspergillus fumigatus

The progress in melanoma immunotherapy highlights the importance of immunotherapy for cancer treatment. Although the concept of immunotherapy emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century, the end of the century signaled the start of modern immunotherapy, which has recently allowed a staggering progress in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Currently, there is a wide variety of immunotherapeutic approaches and critical improvements are continually being made. Among different immunotherapeutic strategies, therapies based on the blockade of immune checkpoint molecules have shown unparalleled efficacy in late-stage cancer patients. Pre-clinical research using ex vivo and in vivo approaches demonstrates the promise of numerous novel strategies for the immunotherapy of cancer. © 2017, L. Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Wroclaw, Poland.

Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis

Immunotherapy as an Option for Cancer Treatment

Removal of toxic byproducts such as bromate (BrO3-) from drinking water is a vital process. Two-dimensional (2D) titanium carbide also known as MXene (Ti3C2TX) was proven a promising candidate for efficient reduction of metal ions. Herein, we report for the first time the simple method for efficient reduction of toxic bromate to bromide in water using 2D Ti3C2TX nanosheets. In this reduction, the Ti-C active layer of Ti3C2TX was oxidized and formed TiO2 nanocrystals, while bromate reduced to bromide via a self-reaction process. Reduction performance of the Ti3C2TX nanosheets was evaluated with respect to the concentration of MXene, time, pH and temperature. The MXene showed excellent reduction of bromate (∼321.8 mg BrO3-/g Ti3C2TX) within 50 min, at pH 7 and 25 °C. Furthermore, MXene nanosheets exhibited excellent sequestration performance toward bromate in comparison with other similar materials. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the reduction of bromate and subsequent oxidation of MXene to form TiO2 nanocrystals and Br-. This makes them attractive reductant materials for the efficient removal of other toxic oxides present in water systems.

ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering

Reductive Sequestration of Toxic Bromate from Drinking Water using Lamellar Two-Dimensional Ti3C2TX (MXene)

Antimicrobial agents and corrosion inhibitors are widely used as biocides in the oil and gas industry to disinfect water and inhibit excessive biofilm formation caused mainly by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRBs). However, traditional biocides may induce bacterial resistance and/or be detrimental to environment by forming harmful disinfection byproducts. In this first systematic study, we synthesized a "green" and highly stable biocide formulations composed of ZnO-interlinked chitosan (Ch) nanoparticles (CZNCs) and evaluated their antimicrobial activity against mixed SRBs culture isolated from real oil field sludge. SEM, TEM, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR suggested the formation of stable nanocomposites with strong interaction between ZnO and Ch nanoparticles. Synthesized nanocomposites showed highly stable behaviors in the high salt concentrations of inject seawater. The inhibition of SRBs activity was concentration-dependent and more than 73% and 43% inhibition of sulfate reduction and total organic carbon (TOC) removal, respectively, was observed at 250 $\mu$g/mL CZNCs at 10% initial ZnO loading. Biocompatibility and environmental impact of the nanocomposite was evaluated by analyzing their potential toxicity in vivo using the zebrafish embryos. Neither mortality nor teratogenic effects were observed on zebrafish embryos using the acute toxicity assay. The hypothetical LC50 for the CZNCs was much higher than 250 $\mu$g/mL. It is expected that the new nanocomposite can contribute to the development of "green" biocides for oil/gas industries that will be eco-friendly and will have no adverse impact on the environment.

"green" ZnO-Interlinked Chitosan Nanoparticles for the Efficient Inhibition of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Inject Seawater

The success of intravenous immunoglobulin immunotherapy in autoimmune diseases has inspired the development of novel Fc-based therapeutics, in particular, multimerized polyvalent Fc molecules. A new study reports that a recombinant IgG1 Fc hexamer alleviates acute and chronic autoimmune diseases in mice. © 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature.