Supramolecular electrostatic nanoassemblies for bacterial forensics.

Electrostatic nanoassemblies were employed to identify bacterial growth conditions. They comprise a cationic conjugated oligoelectrolyte and fluorescein-tagged ssDNA and were optimized with a hybrid, computational neural network model. The photoluminescence spectra contained the oligomer and sensitized fluorescein emission.

Identification of bacteria by conjugated oligoelectrolyte/single-stranded DNA electrostatic complexes.

Electrostatic complexes containing a cationic conjugated oligoelectrolyte (COE) and fluorescein (FAM)-labeled single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) serve as the basis for identifying various bacteria. The approach involves the preparation of five COE/ssDNA(x)-FAM electrostatic complexes, which differ in the ssDNA composition and which provide different photoluminescence (PL) spectra as a result of different degrees of energy transfer efficiency from the COE to FAM. Changes in the PL spectra upon addition of the bacteria can be quantified, and the differential response from the five ssDNAs gives rise to a multicomponent array response that allows identification of the microorganism under investigation.