Global Biodefense April 7, 2021 Ebola virus (EBOV) hemorrhagic fever outbreaks have been challenging to deter due to the lack of health care infrastructure in disease-endemic countries and a corresponding inability to diagnose and contain the disease at an early stage. EBOV vaccines and therapies have improved disease outcomes, but the advent of an affordable, easily accessed, mass-produced rapid diagnostic test (RDT) that matches the performance of more resource-intensive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays would be invaluable in containing future outbreaks. A team of researchers in the US (Duke University, UT Galveston) has developed and demonstrated the performance of a […]
Tag Archives: Biotechnology
New energy conversion layer for biosolar cells
Phys.org December 21, 2020 Well‐defined assemblies of photosynthetic protein complexes are required for an optimal performance of semi‐artificial energy conversion devices, capable of providing unidirectional electron flow when light‐harvesting proteins are interfaced with electrode surfaces. An international team of researchers (Germany, Portugal) has developed a mixed photosystem I (PSI) monolayers constituted of native cyanobacterial PSI trimers in combination with isolated PSI monomers from the same organism. The resulting compact arrangement ensures a high density of photoactive protein complexes per unit area, providing the basis to effectively minimize short‐circuiting processes that typically limit the performance of PSI‐based bioelectrodes. The PSI film […]
Bacterial nanopores open the future of data storage
Nanowerk December 14, 2020 The recent development of polymers that can store information at the molecular level has opened new opportunities for ultrahigh density data storage, long-term archival, anticounterfeiting systems, and molecular cryptography. However, synthetic informational polymers are so far only deciphered by tandem mass spectrometry. In comparison, nanopore technology can be faster, cheaper, nondestructive and provide detection at the single-molecule level; moreover, it can be massively parallelized and miniaturized in portable devices. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, France, Brazil) has demonstrated the ability of engineered aerolysin nanopores to accurately read, with single-bit resolution, the digital information encoded in […]
New cyberattack can trick scientists into making toxins or viruses — Ben-Gurion University researchers
EurekAlert November 30, 2020 According to the researchers in Israel a malware could easily replace a short sub-string of the DNA on a bioengineer’s computer so that they unintentionally create a toxin producing sequence. To regulate both intentional and unintentional generation of dangerous substances, most synthetic gene providers screen DNA orders which is currently the most effective line of defense against such attacks. Unfortunately, the screening guidelines have not been adapted to reflect recent developments in synthetic biology and cyberwarfare. Screening protocols can be circumvented using a generic obfuscation procedure which makes it difficult for the screening software to detect […]
Quantum nanodiamonds may help detect disease earlier
Science Daily November 25, 2020 Researchers in the UK investigated fluorescent nanodiamonds as an ultrasensitive label for in vitro diagnostics, using a microwave field to modulate emission intensity and frequency-domain analysis to separate the signal from background autofluorescence, which typically limits sensitivity. Focusing on the widely used, low-cost lateral flow format as an exemplar, they achieved a detection limit of 8.2 × 10−19 molar for a biotin–avidin model, 105 times more sensitive than that obtained using gold nanoparticles. Single-copy detection of HIV-1 RNA can be achieved with the addition of a 10-minute isothermal amplification step. This ultrasensitive quantum diagnostics platform […]
Detecting bacteria with fluorescent nanosensors
Nanowerk November 25, 2020 Researchers in Germany developed a set of near infrared fluorescent nanosensors are based on single-walled carbon nanotubes that fluoresce in the NIR optical tissue transparency window which offers ultra-low background and high tissue penetration. They are chemically tailored to detect released metabolites as well as specific virulence factors and integrated into functional hydrogel arrays with 9 different sensors. These hydrogels are exposed to clinical isolates of 6 important bacteria and remote (≥25 cm) NIR imaging allows to identify and distinguish bacteria. Sensors are also spectrally encoded to differentiate the two major pathogens P. aeruginosa as well as […]
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 […]
Novel magnetic spray transforms objects into millirobots for biomedical applications (with video)
EurekAlert November 18, 2020 An international team of researchers (Hong Kong, China) has constructed millirobots by coating inanimate objects with a composited agglutinate magnetic spray. The technique enables a variety of 1D, 2D, or 3D objects to be covered with a thin magnetically drivable film (~100 to 250 micrometers in thickness). The film is thin enough to preserve the original size, morphology, and structure of the objects while providing actuation of up to hundreds of times its own weight. Under the actuation of a magnetic field, the millirobots are able to demonstrate a range of locomotive abilities: crawling, walking, and […]
Chemists create new crystal form of insecticide, boosting its ability to fight mosquitoes and malaria
Phys.org October 12, 2020 A team of researchers in the US (New York University, University of Puerto Rico) heated the commercially available form of deltamethrin to 110°C/230°F for a few minutes and let it cool to room temperature; this resulted in a new crystallized form of deltamethrin, composed of long, tiny fibers radiating from a single point. When mosquitoes step on insecticide crystals, the insecticide is absorbed through their feet and, if effective, kills the mosquitoes. In tests the new form was up to 12 times more effective against mosquitoes than the existing form. The new form also remained stable—and […]
‘Like a fishing net,’ nanonet collapses to trap drug molecules
Science Daily October 5, 2020 Natural biomolecules such as peptides and DNA can dynamically self-organize into diverse hierarchical structures. Researchers at the Northwestern University have reported both experiments and simulations on the dynamic network self-assembly and subsequent collapse of the synthetic homopolymer poly(propylene sulfone). The assembly is directed by dynamic noncovalent sulfone–sulfone bonds that are susceptible to solvent polarity. The hydration history controls the homopolymer assembly into uniform nanostructured hydrogels of spherical, vesicular, or cylindrical morphologies. The electrostatic hydrogels achieve >95% encapsulation efficiency for hydrophilic small molecules and biologics. This system validates sulfone–sulfone bonding for dynamic self-assembly, presenting a robust […]