Phys/org December 16, 2024 Field-effect transistor (FET)-based electronic biosensing platforms are particularly attractive due to their sensitivity, fast turn-around time, potential for parallel detection of multiple pathogens, and compatibility with semiconductor manufacturing. However, scalability multiplexed biofunctionalization, nanoscale precision for immobilizing different types of pathogen-specific bioreceptors, are unmet. An international team of researchers (USA – New York University, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, industry, Italy) proposed a paradigm shift in FET biofunctionalization using thermal scanning probe lithography (tSPL) with a thermochemically sensitive polymer which could be spin-coated on fully fabricated FET chips, making this approach applicable to any FET sensor material […]
Category Archives: Biotechnology
Engineered bacterial protein offers efficient rare earth metal separation
Phys.org October 28, 2024 Elucidating details of biology’s selective uptake and trafficking of rare earth elements, particularly the lanthanides, has the potential to inspire sustainable biomolecular separations of these essential metals for many modern technologies. Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University biochemically and structurally characterized Methylobacterium (Methylorubrum) extorquens LanD from a bacterial gene cluster for lanthanide uptake. The protein provided only four ligands at its surface-exposed lanthanide-binding site, allowing for metal-centered protein dimerization that favored the largest lanthanide, LaIII. Selective dimerization enriched high-value PrIII and NdIII relative to low-value LaIII and CeIII in an all-aqueous process, achieved higher separation factors […]
New and improved camera inspired by the human eye
Science Daily July 1, 2024 Neuromorphic vision sensors or event cameras have made the visual perception of extremely low reaction time possible, opening new avenues for high-dynamic robotics applications. Human vision deals with perceptual fading using the active mechanism of small involuntary eye movements, the most prominent ones called microsaccades. By moving the eyes constantly and slightly during fixation, microsaccades can substantially maintain texture stability and persistence. An international team of researchers (USA – University of Maryland, China, Hong Kong) designed an event-based perception system capable of simultaneously maintaining low reaction time and stable texture. In their design, a rotating […]
Researcher discovers 1 in 5 bacteria can break down plastic
Phys.org June 28, 2024 Researchers in the Netherlands identified an organic compound BHET (Bis(2-Hydroxyethyl) terephthalate) and identified and characterized an enzyme (LipA), which could degrade the PET-derived oligomer BHET. The enzyme exhibited varying sequence similarity to several BHETase/PETase enzymes. SclipA was deleted from S. coelicolor resulting in reduced BHET degradation. Overexpression of all LipA variants significantly enhanced BHET degradation. The optimum conditions were determined as pH 7 and 25 °C for all variants. The activity on BHET and amorphous PET film was investigated. S2LipA efficiently degraded BHET and caused roughening and indents on the surface of PET films, comparable to […]
Universal brain-computer interface lets people play games with just their thoughts
Science Daily April 1, 2024 Subject training requires collecting user-specific calibration data due to high inter-subject neural variability that limits the usability of generic decoders. Calibration is cumbersome and may produce inadequate data for building decoders, especially with naïve subjects. Researchers at UT Austin showed that a decoder trained on the data of a single expert is readily transferrable to inexperienced users via domain adaptation techniques allowing calibration-free Brain-computer interface (BCI) training. They introduced two real-time frameworks, (i) Generic Recentering (GR) through unsupervised adaptation and (ii) Personally Assisted Recentering (PAR) and evaluated it on naïve subjects to show that their […]
Engineers find a new way to convert carbon dioxide into useful products
MIT News March 27, 2024 For electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide with a small-molecule catalyst, the catalyst must be proximal to an electrode surface. Efforts to immobilize molecular catalysts on electrodes have been stymied by the need to optimize the immobilization chemistries on a case-by-case basis. Researchers at MIT applied DNA as a molecular-scale “Velcro” to investigate the tethering of three porphyrin-based catalysts to electrodes improving both the stability of the catalysts and their Faradaic efficiencies (FEs). Immobilization resulted in higher catalyst stability at relevant potentials. Lower overpotentials were required for the generation of CO. High FE for CO generation […]
‘Plug and play’ nanoparticles could make it easier to tackle various biological targets
Phys.org October 30, 2023 Despite their inherent versatility and ability to enable complex biological applications, there is considerable interest in augmenting the performance of membrane-coated nanoparticles (CNP) through the introduction of additional functionalities. Researchers at UC San Diego developed and demonstrated a genetic-engineering-based modular approach to CNP functionalization. The cell membrane coating was engineered to express a SpyCatcher membrane anchor that could readily form a covalent bond with any moiety modified with SpyTag. They generated three unique targeted CNP formulations using different classes of targeting ligands, including a designed ankyrin repeat protein. In vitro, the modified nanoparticles exhibited enhanced affinity […]
Living hydrogel fibers unveiling a new era of sustainable engineered materials
Nanowerk September 27, 2023 A major challenge in creating living materials for functional material design, integrating synthetic biology tools to endow materials with programmable, dynamic, and life-like characteristics, is balancing the tradeoff between structural stability, mechanical performance, and functional programmability. To address this problem researchers in China proposed a sheath–core living hydrogel fiber platform that synergistically integrated living bacteria with hydrogel fibers to achieve both functional diversity and structural and mechanical robustness. The microfluidic spinning was used to produce hydrogel fiber, which offered advantages in both structural and functional designability due to their hierarchical porous architectures that could be tailored […]
Tiny CRISPR tool could help shred viruses
Science Daily September 27, 2023 The CRISPR-Cas13 ribonucleases have been widely applied for RNA knockdown and transcriptional modulation owing to their high programmability and specificity. However, the large size of Cas13 effectors and their non-specific RNA cleavage upon target activation limit the adeno-associated virus-based delivery of Cas13 systems for therapeutic applications. Researchers at Rice University descried detailed biochemical and structural characterizations of a compact Cas13 (Cas13bt3) suitable for adeno-associated virus delivery. Distinct from many other Cas13 systems, Cas13bt3 cleaves the target and other nonspecific RNA at internal “UC” sites and was activated in a target length-dependent manner. The cryo-electron microscope […]