Joshua A. Jackman

Ongoing challenges in the swine industry, such as reduced access to antibiotics and virus outbreaks (e.g., porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, African swine fever virus), have prompted calls for innovative feed additives to support pig production. Medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and monoglycerides have emerged as a potential option due to key molecular features and versatile functions, including inhibitory activity against viral and bacterial pathogens. In this review, we summarize recent studies

The adhesion of lipid vesicles to solid supports represents an important step in the molecular self-assembly of model membrane platforms. A wide range of experimental parameters are involved in controlling this process, including substrate material and topology, lipid composition, vesicle size, solution pH, ionic strength, and osmotic pressure. At present, it is not well understood how the magnitude and direction of the osmotic pressure exerted on a vesicle influence the corresponding adsorption

Widely used in catalysis and biosensing applications, aluminum oxide has become popular for surface functionalization with biological macromolecules, including lipid bilayer coatings. However, it is difficult to form supported lipid bilayers on aluminum oxide, and current methods require covalent surface modification, which masks the interfacial properties of aluminum oxide, and/or complex fabrication techniques with specific conditions. Herein, we addressed this issue by identifying simple and

Nanoscience is one of the fastest growing and most impactful fields in global scientific research. In order to support the continued development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, it is important that nanoscience education be a top priority to accelerate research excellence. In this Nano Focus, we discuss current approaches to nanoscience training and propose a learning design framework to promote the next generation of nanoscientists. Prominent among these are the abilities to communicate and t

Together, the findings in this study indicate that MCFA and GML inhibit ASFv in liquid conditions and that GML is also able to reduce ASFv infectivity in feed, which may help to curb disease transmission.

Nanomedicine enables unique diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities to tackle problems in clinical medicine. As multifunctional agents with programmable properties, nanomedicines are poised to revolutionize treatment strategies. This promise is especially evident for infectious disease applications, for which the continual emergence, re-emergence, and evolution of pathogens has proven difficult to counter by conventional approaches. Herein, a conceptual framework is presented that envisions poss

A plasmonic nanohole sensor for virus-like particle capture and virucidal drug evaluation is reported. Using a materials-selective surface functionalization scheme, passive immobilization of virus-like particles only within the nanoholes is achieved. The findings demonstrate that a low surface coverage of particles only inside the functionalized nanoholes significantly improves nanoplasmonic sensing performance over conventional nanohole arrays.

Abstract Bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein is widely used to fabricate antifouling coatings for nanobiotechnology applications. Numerous BSA protein options are commercially available and obtained through different purification methods, however, there is no guidance on which ones are preferable for antifouling coatings. Herein, we investigate the real-time fabrication of antifouling coatings composed of BSA proteins obtained through different purification methods, and report significant differe

An amphipathic α-helical (AH) peptide was recently discovered that can rupture the lipid envelope of many viruses including HIV, hepatitis C, dengue, and herpes simplex. Despite its broad-spectrum activity, the AH peptide specifically targets small viruses only and does not affect large viruses. Indirect observations of virus size-specific targeting have been confirmed in a model system comprised of intact lipid vesicles on a gold substrate. Depending on vesicle size, AH peptide can promote vesi

Characterizing the shape of sub-100 nm, biological soft-matter particulates (e.g., liposomes and exosomes) adsorbed at a solid-liquid interface remains a challenging task. Here, we introduce a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing approach to quantitatively profile the deformation of nanoscale, fluid-phase 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) liposomes contacting a titanium dioxide substrate. Experimental and theoretical results validate that, due to its high sensitivity

An indirect nanoplasmonic sensing platform is reported for investigating the kinetics of attachment and shape deformation associated with lipid vesicle adsorption onto a titanium oxide-coated substrate. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) originates from embedded gold nanodisks and is highly sensitive to the local lipid environment. To interpret the corresponding results, we have extended treatments of diffusion-limited adsorption kinetics and adsorbate-related LSPR physics, identifie

Titanium oxide is a biocompatible material that supports vesicle adhesion. Depending on experimental parameters, adsorbed vesicles remain intact or rupture spontaneously. Vesicle rupture has been attributed to electrostatic attraction between vesicles and titanium oxide, although the relative contribution of various interfacial forces remains to be clarified. Herein, we investigated the influence of vesicle surface charge on vesicle adsorption onto titanium oxide and observed that electrostatic

We have investigated the effect of freeze-thaw (FT) pretreatment on the adhesion and rupture of extruded vesicles over a wide range of vesicle sizes. To characterize the size distributions of vesicles obtained with and without FT pretreatment, dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments were performed. The interaction between extruded vesicles and a silicon oxide substrate was investigated by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring, with a focus on comparative analysis of