Light-controlled nanoparticles will play key role in biosensor development

Phys.org  May 11. 2021 An international team of researchers (Russia, Singapore) made nanoparticles composed of silicon cores and biopolymer shells. The substances that make up the shells have different hydrophobic/hydrophilic qualities using which they could make the particles contract or expand depending on external factors. The nanoparticles change both shape and color under thermal influence. The new controllable systems can also be used to create thermo- and light-controlled dyes akin to liquid-crystal modulators used in holography and lithography. Changes in the color of the particles occur solely due to structural transformations. Change in color allows monitoring the particle in real […]

Grabbing Viruses Out of Thin Air

Asia Research News  November 25, 2020 An international team of researchers (Japan, China, UK) review the state of the art of research on biosensor materials for virus detection. Topics covered include a general description of the principles for virus detection, a critique of the experimental work dedicated to various virus sensors, a summary of their detection limitations. They examined the piezoelectric sensors used for the detection of human papilloma, vaccinia, dengue, Ebola, influenza A, human immunodeficiency, and hepatitis B viruses. Magnetostrictive sensors for the detection of bacterial spores, proteins, and classical swine fever are covered. Progress related to early detection […]

Engineers use metal-oxide nanomaterials deposited on cloth to wipe out microbes

Nanowerk  April 8, 2020 As proof of concept researchers at the State University of Iowa grew shape-controlled cerium oxide nanostructures on fluorine doped tin oxide, carbon paper, and carbon cloth as substrates. They found that the cerium oxide nanostructures grown directly on carbon cloth were the most sensitive glucose biosensors. The enhanced performance of these biosensors was related to the increased surface area and high defect concentrations on the surface. These results provide a potential opportunity for flexible substrates like carbon paper and carbon cloth coupled with nanostructures, in a feasible design, to be used as platforms for robust, affordable, […]

Graphene underpins a new platform to selectively ID deadly strains of bacteria

Technology.org  March 24, 2020 Point-of-care diagnostics that can reduce and/or prevent unneeded antibiotic prescriptions require highly specific probes with sensitive and accurate transducers that can be miniaturized and multiplexed, and that are easy to operate and cheap. Researchers at Boston College present several advances in the use of graphene field effect transistors (G-FET) including the first use of peptide probes to electrically detect antibiotic resistant bacteria in a highly specific manner. They have reduced the needed concentration for detection by employing dielectrophoresis which allows monitoring changes in the Dirac point due to individual bacterial cells. Rapid binding of bacterial cells […]