Abstract: A biopharmaceutical agent including a 37 kDa/67 kDa laminin receptor precursor/high affinity laminin receptor (LRP/LR) and/or a fragment thereof for use in treatment and/or prevention of atherosclerosis and/or obesity and/or insulin resistance and/or diabetes. The biopharmaceutical agent may be encapsulated by functionalized or non-functionalized nanoparticles, and further may be formulated to include a carrier to provide a pharmaceutical composition for parental or non-parental administration. In use, the biopharmaceutical agent reduces lipid content in target cells. Also, a method of decreasing lipid concentration in a target cell of a human or animal subject.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods for producing gold nanoparticles functionalised with a telomerase substrate, or a linker nucleic acid having a region complementary to a nucleic acid comprising a telomerase substrate, for use in detecting telomerase activity. Functionalised gold nanoparticle solutions and functionalised gold nanoparticles obtained using the method are also provided for. The invention further relates to a functionalised gold nanoparticle complex, comprising gold nanoparticles coupled to a linker nucleic acid which is hybridised to a nucleic acid comprising a telomerase substrate. Telomerase assays using the functionalised gold nanoparticles or functionalised gold nanoparticle complexes of the invention and kits for detecting telomerase activity in a cell, comprising the functionalised gold nanoparticles or functionalised gold nanoparticle complexes of the invention are also provided for.