caffeine citrate (Cafnea)

The DECAF trial: coffee, caffeine, and atrial fibrillation.

Wong Christopher X CX, Marcus Gregory M GM

Surface Chemistry-Driven Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Fingerprinting of Aptamers on Silver Colloids.

Pandolfi Sara S, Venuti Elisabetta E, Locatelli Erica E, Mateos Xavier X et al.

The surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of nucleic acids (NAs) often vary substantially across plasmonic substrates. However, systematic comparative studies across the most commonly employed plasmonic platforms remain limited, particularly for structurally complex NAs, such as aptamers. Herein, we investigate the direct SERS fingerprinting of a thiolated aptamer across three representative silver colloidal systems widely used in nucleic-acid SERS studies: intrinsically cationic spermine-modified nanoparticles, post-synthetically spermine-modified citrate colloids, and chloride-modified citrate colloids. The results show that, under the investigated conditions, the surface chemistry appears to primarily determine the dominant adsorption regime, modulating the balance between the backbone electrostatics and nucleobase-metal interactions. Intrinsically cationic nanoparticles preserve folding-dependent spectral differences, whereas negatively charged systems exhibit pronounced coverage-dependent spectral variability, highlighting the sensitivity of the interfacial SERS response to surface coverage and preparation history. These findings highlight that the SERS fingerprint of the aptamer in colloidal suspension largely emerges from the interplay between the structural complexity of the NA and the adsorption regime imposed by the nanoparticle surface chemistry. Therefore, different colloidal substrates can provide complementary spectroscopic information.

High-Throughput Multi-Capillary Electrophoresis.

Drewes Jana J, Meyer Sarah S, Roberts Isobel I, Fanny Cleo C et al.

The potential of multi-capillary electrophoresis (CE) for high-throughput analysis of legacy CE applications was investigated by optimisation of the separation of six pharmaceutical compounds on a single-capillary instrument, followed by transference of the method to an eight-capillary BioPhase 8800 system from SCIEX. Multi-CE had superior performance, allowing construction of calibration curves in a single run, and a five-fold reduction of run time per sample, improved linearity, accuracy and limits of detection. Method transfer from the single-capillary system required minor instrumental parameter adjustments using the same background electrolyte. The potential of multi-CE was shown via quantification of caffeine in a variety of energy drinks, demonstrating broad applicability where high-throughput and rapid analyses are desirable.

Case Report: Mitochondrial insufficiency underlies cholinergic failure in post-vaccination long COVID: a candidate treatment protocol.

Goulding Tom T

An 80-year-old male with severe long COVID developed acute deterioration following COVID-19 vaccination despite ongoing cholinergic therapy (Mestinon 90 mg daily). A comprehensive mitochondrial support protocol targeting NAD+ repletion, electron transport chain function, and oxidative stress was initiated, with all components delivered in fresh-squeezed orange juice. Clinical response was dramatic within 48 h, with sustained functional recovery over 6 weeks. Challenge-rechallenge testing demonstrated rapid symptom recurrence and resolution with three key observations: missed doses, wrong component sequence, and substitution of water for orange juice. This final observation suggests citric acid may function as a rate-limiting Krebs cycle substrate, consistent with impaired endogenous citrate synthesis in severe long COVID. This case suggests that cholinergic support may require concurrent metabolic foundation including direct substrate supplementation, and some long COVID manifestations may be metabolically reversible with multi-pathway intervention. As a single self-case report, these findings generate hypotheses for systematic investigation rather than establishing treatment guidelines.