Astaxanthin (AST), distributed widely in aquatic animals, protects against oxidative stress, various diseases, and age-related degeneration. Many studies have shown AST with different chirality has different biological activities and functions, so it’s important to identify the chirality of AST. High performance liquid chromatography is generally used, but the analysis takes a long time and requires a relatively large amount of sample. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new technologies for identifying the chirality of AST.
Recently, the research group of Liangbao Yang, from the Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), developed in-situ SERS readout strategy to improve the reliability of beta-galactosidase activity assay based on X-gal staining. The relevant research results have been published in Talanta.
Early detection of lung cancer has significant potential for improving the survival expectancy of patients. Low-dose CT (LDCT) screening has been widely used in the early detection of lung cancer. However, due to the high sensitivity of LDCT screening, a lot of non-tumorous pulmonary nodules are also detected. Some pulmonary nodules are difficult to distinguish benign and malignant nature by CT imaging, especially for the ground-glass nodules that are approximately 1 cm in diameter. Therefore, there is an unmet need for new non-invasive diagnostic options with high sensitivity and specificity to distinguish malignant tumors from benign pulmonary nodules.
HFIPS researchers developed a smart functional robot that can realize simultaneous disinfection of both air and object surface, which enables the robot applicable in many medical environment, like Intensive Care Medicine (ICU), Disinfection Supply Center and Static Delivery Center, etc,. The key credits for disinfection go to GHP and UVC which work together for high effective and simultaneous disinfection of air and microorganism on object surface.
Using the SM1 superconducting magnet, a large scientific device with a steady-state high magnetic field, scientists carried out research on special functional materials and found that high magnetic fields can effectively regulate the rate, reaction path and reaction products of chemical reactions. The results were published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters recently.