Publications by authors named "Bryan Chin"

A wild, tailed phage (TST) was compared with a genetically modified, filamentous phage (FST) for S. Typhimurium (ST) detection. When both phages were introduced into oppositely charged MUA and MUAM sensors, the RU values of TST showed an obvious increase on the MUAM sensor.

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Foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens on fresh produce remain one of the most critical food safety problems the world faces. The recalls of pasta salad in 2018 and pre-cut melons in 2019 imply current methods in identifying the source of pathogens and outbreak prevention are inappropriate and time consuming. In this article, a new technology, called the 3D phage-based biomolecular filter, was developed to simultaneously capture and concentrate foodborne pathogens from large volumes of liquid streams (food liquid or wash water streams).

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Tricresyl phosphate (TCP) is an organophosphorous neurotoxin that has been detected in water, soil and air. Exposure to TCP in cockpit and cabin air poses a severe threat to flight safety and the health of the aircraft cabin occupants. Conventional methods for the detection of TCP in various samples are gas or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, which are complex and expensive.

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We developed a genetic approach to efficiently add an affinity tag to every copy of protein IX (pIX) of M13 filamentous bacteriophage in a population. Affinity-tagged phages can be immobilized on a surface in a uniform monolayer in order to position the pIII-displayed peptides or proteins for optimal interaction with ligands. The tagging consists of two major steps.

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Understanding the chemical composition and morphology of interfaces plays a vital role in the development of sensors, drug delivery systems, coatings for biomedical implants, and so forth. In many cases, the interface characterization can be performed by a combination of electrochemical and one of the optical techniques. In this study, we further enhanced capabilities in probing interfaces by combining electrochemical characterization with multiple optical techniques, that is, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and fluorescence spectroscopy.

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Phage-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors have been studied as an in-situ, real-time, wireless, direct detection method of foodborne pathogens in recent years. This paper investigates an ME biosensor method for the detection of Typhimurium on fresh spinach leaves. A procedure to obtain a concentrated suspension of from contaminated spinach leaves is described that is based on methods outlined in the U.

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To date, there has been no employment of a magnetoelastic (ME) biosensor method to detect serovar Typhimurium in soil. The ME biosensor method needs to be investigated and modified for its successful performance. The filtration method, cation-exchange resin method, and combinations of both methods were employed for the extraction of .

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Magnetostrictive biosensors specific to Salmonella typhimurium were prepared by immobilizing antibody or phage as biorecognition elements onto the magnetostrictive sensor platform. The sensors were stored at temperatures of 25 °C (room temperature), 45 °C and 65 °C, respectively, and the ability to bind S. typhimurium was detected by testing the resonant frequency shift using a HP network analyzer after exposure to 1 mL of 1×10(9) cfu/mL of S.

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Proof-in-principle of a new surface-scanning coil detector has been demonstrated. This new coil detector excites and measures the resonant frequency of free-standing magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors that may now be placed outside the coil boundaries. With this coil design, the biosensors are no longer required to be placed inside the coil before frequency measurement.

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Precipitate size and number density are two key factors for tailoring the mechanical behavior of nanoscale precipitate-hardened alloys. However, during thermal aging, the precipitate size and number density change, leading to either poor strength or high strength but significantly reduced ductility. Here we demonstrate, by producing nanoscale co-precipitates in composition-optimized multicomponent precipitation-hardened alloys, a unique approach to improve the stability of the alloy against thermal aging and hence the mechanical properties.

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Discrimination of methicillin resistant (MRSA) and sensitive (MSSA) strains of Staphylococcus aureus, was achieved by the specially selected lytic bacteriophage with a wide host range of S. aureus strains and a penicillin-binding protein (PBP 2a) specific antibody. A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was employed to analyze bacteria-phage interactions.

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This article presents rapid, sensitive, direct detection of Salmonella Typhimurium on eggshells by using wireless magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors. The biosensor consists of a freestanding, strip-shaped ME resonator as the signal transducer and the E2 phage as the biomolecular recognition element that selectively binds with Salmonella Typhimurium. This ME biosensor is a type of mass-sensitive biosensor that can be wirelessly actuated into mechanical resonance by an externally applied timevarying magnetic field.

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Background: Plants emit phytochemicals as a defensive mechanism against herbivores. A small sensor switch that responds to these chemicals could be used to stop insect infestation at early stages.

Results: Polyethylene-co-vinyl acetate was chosen as the best polymer for this particular application, based on its swelling response to plant volatiles.

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One of the important applications for which phage-immobilized magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors are being developed is the wireless, on-site detection of pathogenic bacteria for food safety and bio-security. Until now, such biosensors have been constructed by immobilizing a landscape phage probe on gold-coated ME resonators via physical adsorption. Although the physical adsorption method is simple, the immobilization stability and surface coverage of phage probes on differently functionalized sensor surfaces need to be evaluated as a potential way to enhance the detection capabilities of the biosensors.

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Tobacco osmotin is a functional homolog of mammalian adiponectin, and has antifungal activity. This work was undertaken to produce recombinant osmotin that has previously been unsuccessful because of its toxicity. Expression of recombinant tobacco osmotin (rOSM) in Escherichia coli inclusion bodies has been achieved.

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This paper presents a pulse method for determination of resonance frequency of magnetoelastic sensors. The method eliminates the bias field that is necessary in previous methods and also allows fast and accurate detection. The stability tests of the system show an average standard deviation of 129 Hz and an average drift of -10.

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Current bacterial detection methods require the collection of samples followed by preparation and analysis in the laboratory, both time and labour consuming steps. More importantly, because of cost, only a limited number of samples can be taken and analyzed. This paper presents the results of an investigation to directly detect Salmonella typhimurium on fresh tomato surfaces using phage-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors.

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In this article, a phage-based magnetoelastic sensor for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium is reported. Filamentous bacteriophage specific to S. typhimurium was used as a biorecognition element in order to ensure specific and selective binding of bacteria onto the sensor surface.

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Mass-sensitive, magnetoelastic resonance sensors have a characteristic resonant frequency that can be determined by monitoring the magnetic flux emitted by the sensor in response to an applied, time varying, magnetic field. This magnetostrictive platform has a unique advantage over conventional sensor platforms in that measurement is wireless and remote. A biosensor for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium was constructed by immobilizing a polyclonal antibody (the bio-molecular recognition element) onto the surface of a magnetostrictive platform.

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We selected from landscape phage library probes that bind preferentially Salmonella typhimurium cells compared with other Enterobacteriaceae. The specificity of the phage probes for S. typhimurium was analyzed by the phage-capture test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the precipitation test.

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