Browsing by Author "Moabelo, Koena Leah"

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    Development of an aptamer based lateral flow test strip for a diabetes biomarker
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Moabelo, Koena Leah; Meyer, Mervin
    Diabetes mellitus is one of the major chronic diseases that poses a significant risk to human health globally. Current diagnostics for diabetes are based on blood glucose measurements, which can go unnoticed for years. As such, there is an urgent need for diagnosis of diabetes at the point-of-care (PoC), and in low-income settings. Recent developments in the field of nanotechnology, and the use of aptamers show great promise in developing sensitive and disease-specific assays. Aptamers have high specificity, selectivity, low molecular weight, nontoxicity, non-immunogenicity, and are easy to produce. The aim of the study was to characterize and identify dual aptamers for the development of an aptamer-based PoC diagnostic kit for diabetes. Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) and its binding aptamers were identified through in silico approach. The secondary structures of the selected retinol binding aptamers (RBA) were predicted by M-fold and Quadruplex forming G-Rich Sequences mapper. Binding affinity of aptamers to the biomarker was characterized by Surface Plasmon Resonance(SPR), Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and Enzyme-Linked Aptamer Assay (ELAA) and the aptamer pairs were evaluated by sandwich-based SPR and ELAA. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were synthesized using the Turkevich method, and characterized by UV-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometry, Zetasizer and Transmission Electron Microscopy. One aptamer was conjugated to AuNPs and the conjugate was characterized by UV-Vis, Zetasizer, Qubit assay and gel electrophoresis. The apt-AuNPs were used in the preparation of the lateral flow test strips and a colorimetric aptasensor for the detection of RBP4.
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    Nanotechnology-based strategies for treatment of obesity, cancer and anti-microbial resistance: Highlights of the Department of Science and Innovation/mintek Nanotechnology Innovation centre biolabels research node at the University of the Western Cape
    (MDPI, 2022) Sibuyi, Nicole Remaliah Samantha; Moabelo, Koena Leah; Meyer, Samantha
    Nanotechnology has recently received much interest in various fields, including medicine. South Africa (SA) was the first country in Africa to adopt the technology with the aim of enhancing the national bio-economy and global competitiveness by using innovative nanotechnology-based solutions. Since its inception in 2005 in SA, researchers have seized opportunities to increase and develop niche areas for its application in the health, energy, food, agriculture, and water sectors. We ventured into this field and have performed pioneering work on nanotechnology-based treatment strategies over the years. This perspective highlights the journey, with associated successes over the years, in order to display the impact of our nanotechnology research in health. The focus is on the nanotechnology outputs that have emanated from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI)/Mintek Nanotechnology Innovation Centre (NIC) Biolabels Research Node (BRN) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).