Evolutionary biomechanics: hard tissues and soft evidence? (2021)
Journal Article
Broyde, S., Dempsey, M., Wang, L., Cox, P. G., Fagan, M., & Bates, K. T. (2021). Evolutionary biomechanics: hard tissues and soft evidence?. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1945), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2809

Biomechanical modelling is a powerful tool for quantifying the evolution of functional performance in extinct animals to understand key anatomical innovations and selective pressures driving major evolutionary radiations. However, the fossil record i... Read More about Evolutionary biomechanics: hard tissues and soft evidence?.

Mathematical modeling of canonical and non-canonical NF-κB pathways in TNF stimulation (2020)
Journal Article
Ji, B., Zhang, Y., Zhen, C., Fagan, M. J., & Yang, Q. (2020). Mathematical modeling of canonical and non-canonical NF-κB pathways in TNF stimulation. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 196, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105677

Background and objective: NF-κB can be activated by the canonical and non-canonical pathways. These two pathways interplay via the TRAF1|NIK complex after stimulation by TNF. However existing mathematical models of two pathways are inadequate. In thi... Read More about Mathematical modeling of canonical and non-canonical NF-κB pathways in TNF stimulation.

Towards an early 3D-diagnosis of craniofacial asymmetry by computing the accurate midplane: A PCA-based method (2020)
Journal Article
Ortún-Terrazas, J., Fagan, M. J., Cegoñino, J., Illipronti-Filho, E., & Pérez del Palomar, A. (2020). Towards an early 3D-diagnosis of craniofacial asymmetry by computing the accurate midplane: A PCA-based method. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 191, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105397

Background and objective: Craniofacial asymmetry is a common growth disorder often caused by unilateral chewing. Although an early orthodontic treatment would avoid surgical procedures later in life, the uncertainty of defining the accurate sagittal... Read More about Towards an early 3D-diagnosis of craniofacial asymmetry by computing the accurate midplane: A PCA-based method.

Controlling the antimicrobial action of surface modified magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles (2019)
Journal Article
Halbus, A. F., Horozov, T. S., & Paunov, V. N. (2019). Controlling the antimicrobial action of surface modified magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles. Biomimetics, 4(2), https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics4020041

Magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles (Mg(OH)2NPs) have recently attracted significant attention due to their wide applications as environmentally friendly antimicrobial nanomaterials, with potentially low toxicity and low fabrication cost. Here, we desc... Read More about Controlling the antimicrobial action of surface modified magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles.

Bioimprint aided cell recognition and depletion of human leukemic HL60 cells from peripheral blood (2019)
Journal Article
Das, A. A., Medlock, J., Liang, H., Nees, D., Allsup, D. J., Madden, L. A., & Paunov, V. N. (2019). Bioimprint aided cell recognition and depletion of human leukemic HL60 cells from peripheral blood. Journal of materials chemistry B, Materials for biology and medicine /, 7(22), 3497-3504. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tb00679f

We report a large scale preparation of bioimprints of layers of cultured human leukemic HL60 cells which can perform cell shape and size recognition from a mixture with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We demonstrate that the bioimprint-ce... Read More about Bioimprint aided cell recognition and depletion of human leukemic HL60 cells from peripheral blood.

Self-grafting copper oxide nanoparticles show a strong enhancement of their anti-algal and anti-yeast action (2019)
Journal Article
Halbus, A. F., Horozov, T. S., & Paunov, V. N. (2019). Self-grafting copper oxide nanoparticles show a strong enhancement of their anti-algal and anti-yeast action. Nanoscale advances, 1(6), 2323-2336. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9na00099b

© 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry. We have developed and tested copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs) grafted with (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and coupled with 4-hydroxyphenylboronic acid (4-HPBA), which provides a very strong boo... Read More about Self-grafting copper oxide nanoparticles show a strong enhancement of their anti-algal and anti-yeast action.

Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head (2019)
Journal Article
Dutel, H., Galland, M., Tafforeau, P., Long, J. A., Fagan, M. J., Janvier, P., …Herbin, M. (2019). Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head. Nature, 569, 556–559. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1117-3

The neurocranium of sarcopterygian fishes was originally divided into an anterior (ethmosphenoid) and posterior (otoccipital) portion by an intracranial joint, and underwent major changes in its overall geometry before fusing into a single unit in lu... Read More about Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head.

Dual-functionalised shellac nanocarriers give a super-boost of the antimicrobial action of berberine (2018)
Journal Article
Al-Obaidy, S. S., Greenway, G. M., & Paunov, V. N. (2019). Dual-functionalised shellac nanocarriers give a super-boost of the antimicrobial action of berberine. Nanoscale advances, 1(2), 858-872. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8na00121a

We have developed highly efficient antimicrobial nanocarriers for berberine (BRB) based on shellac nanoparticles (NPs) which were surface-functionalised with a surface active polymer, Poloxamer 407 (P407), and the cationic surfactant octadecyltrimeth... Read More about Dual-functionalised shellac nanocarriers give a super-boost of the antimicrobial action of berberine.

Bite force and cranial bone strain in four species of lizards (2018)
Journal Article
Ross, C. F., Porro, L. B., Herrel, A., Evans, S. E., & Fagan, M. J. (2018). Bite force and cranial bone strain in four species of lizards. The journal of experimental biology, 221(23), jeb.180240. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.180240

In vivo bone strain data provide direct evidence of strain patterns in the cranium during biting. Compared to mammals, in vivo bone strains in lizard skulls are poorly documented. This paper presents strain data from the skulls of Anolis equestris, G... Read More about Bite force and cranial bone strain in four species of lizards.

Amplified antimicrobial action of chlorhexidine encapsulated in PDAC-functionalized acrylate copolymer nanogel carriers (2018)
Journal Article
Al-Awady, M. J., Weldrick, P. J., Hardman, M. J., Greenway, G. M., & Paunov, V. N. (2018). Amplified antimicrobial action of chlorhexidine encapsulated in PDAC-functionalized acrylate copolymer nanogel carriers. Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 2(11), 2032-2044. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8qm00343b

We have developed and tested a novel functionalised nanocarrier for chlorhexidine (CHX) which provides a very strong enhancement of its antimicrobial action. The nanocarrier was based on lightly-cross-linked acrylate copolymer nanogel particles loade... Read More about Amplified antimicrobial action of chlorhexidine encapsulated in PDAC-functionalized acrylate copolymer nanogel carriers.

The role of miniaturization in the evolution of the mammalian jaw and middle ear (2018)
Journal Article
Lautenschlager, S., Gill, P. G., Luo, Z. X., Fagan, M. J., & Rayfield, E. J. (2018). The role of miniaturization in the evolution of the mammalian jaw and middle ear. Nature, 561(7724), 533-537. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0521-4

The evolution of the mammalian jaw is one of the most important innovations in vertebrate history, and underpins the exceptional radiation and diversification of mammals over the last 220 million years. In particular, the transformation of the mandi... Read More about The role of miniaturization in the evolution of the mammalian jaw and middle ear.

Electrochemical measurement of antibody­‐antigen recognition biophysics: thermodynamics and kinetics of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) binding to redox-­tagged antibodies (2018)
Journal Article
Partington, L. I., Atkin, S. L., Kilpatrick, E. S., Morris, S. H., Piper, M., Lawrence, N. S., & Wadhawan, J. D. (2018). Electrochemical measurement of antibody­‐antigen recognition biophysics: thermodynamics and kinetics of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) binding to redox-­tagged antibodies. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 819, 533-541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2018.02.062

The thermodynamics and kinetics of antigen binding under diffusive conditions to an electrode surface modified with ferrocene-tagged antibodies is studied within this work, and realised experimentally for the case of human chorionic gonadotropin (hGC... Read More about Electrochemical measurement of antibody­‐antigen recognition biophysics: thermodynamics and kinetics of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) binding to redox-­tagged antibodies.

A biomechanical analysis of prognathous and orthognathous insect head capsules: Evidence for a many to one mapping of ridge strain to head strain (2018)
Journal Article
Blanke, A., Pinheiro, M., Watson, P. J., & Fagan, M. J. (2018). A biomechanical analysis of prognathous and orthognathous insect head capsules: Evidence for a many to one mapping of ridge strain to head strain. Journal of evolutionary biology, 31(5), 665-674. https://doi.org/10.1111/jeb.13251

Insect head shapes are remarkably variable but the influences of these changes on biomechanical performance are unclear. Among “basal” winged insects, such as dragonflies, mayflies, earwigs, and stoneflies, some of the most prominent anatomical chang... Read More about A biomechanical analysis of prognathous and orthognathous insect head capsules: Evidence for a many to one mapping of ridge strain to head strain.

New insights into the biomechanics of Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease: The role of epiphyseal skeletal immaturity in vascular obstruction (2018)
Journal Article
Pinheiro, M., Dobson, C. A., Perry, D., & Fagan, M. J. (2018). New insights into the biomechanics of Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease: The role of epiphyseal skeletal immaturity in vascular obstruction. Bone & joint research, 7(2), 148-156 . https://doi.org/10.1302/2046-3758.72.bjr-2017-0191.r1

Objectives Legg–Calvé–Perthes’ disease (LCP) is an idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head that is most common in children between four and eight years old. The factors that lead to the onset of LCP are still unclear; however, it is believed th... Read More about New insights into the biomechanics of Legg-Calvé-Perthes’ disease: The role of epiphyseal skeletal immaturity in vascular obstruction.

Enhanced antimicrobial effect of berberine in nanogel carriers with cationic surface functionality (2017)
Journal Article
Al-Awady, M. J., Fauchet, A., Greenway, G. M., & Paunov, V. N. (2017). Enhanced antimicrobial effect of berberine in nanogel carriers with cationic surface functionality. Journal of materials chemistry B, Materials for biology and medicine /, 5(38), 7885-7897. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7tb02262j

We report a strong enhancement in the antimicrobial action of berberine encapsulated into polyacrylic acid-based nanogels followed by further surface functionalisation with a cationic polyelectrolyte (PDAC). Due to the highly developed surface area,... Read More about Enhanced antimicrobial effect of berberine in nanogel carriers with cationic surface functionality.

Colloid particle formulations for antimicrobial applications (2017)
Journal Article
Halbus, A. F., Horozov, T. S., & Paunov, V. N. (2017). Colloid particle formulations for antimicrobial applications. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 249, 134-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2017.05.012

Colloidal particles are being extensively studied in various antimicrobial applications due to their small size to volume ratio and ability to exhibit a wide spectrum of antibacterial, antifungal, antialgal and antiviral action. The present review fo... Read More about Colloid particle formulations for antimicrobial applications.

Computational biomechanics changes our view on insect head evolution (2017)
Journal Article
Blanke, A., Watson, P. J., Holbrey, R., & Fagan, M. J. (2017). Computational biomechanics changes our view on insect head evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1848), https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2412

© 2017 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Despite large-scale molecular attempts, the relationships of the basal winged insect lineages dragonflies, mayflies and neopterans, are still unresolved. Other data sources, su... Read More about Computational biomechanics changes our view on insect head evolution.