Au nanoparticle conjugation for impedance and capacitance signal amplification in biosensors.

Amplification of the electrochemical impedance and capacitance signals in a biosensor is demonstrated for the model fluorescein/anti-fluorescein system. Following immobilization of fluorescein onto Au through formation of a self-assembled monolayer, goat anti-fluorescein conjugated with 10-nm Au nanoparticles is introduced into the system. This results in an increase in the capacitance of approximately 400 nF/cm(2), whereas no change can be observed for goat anti-fluorescein without the Au nanoparticle conjugate.

Incidence of chaotic eating behaviors in binge-eating disorder: contributing factors.

Because dieting is not as common in patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) as among patients with bulimia or anorexia nervosa, the authors assessed the incidence, frequency, and contributing factors of semistarvation-like eating patterns in BED patients in this study, the first to explore such behaviors in a clinical population. They administered the Semistarvation-Associated Behaviors Scale (SSABS) to 54 women seeking BED treatment and to 29 controls. The aberrant eating behaviors among BED clients were associated with current dieting and certain BED criteria, (p < .

Microfluidic tool box as technology platform for hand-held diagnostics.

Background: Use of microfluidics in point-of-care testing (POCT) will require on-board fluidics, self-contained reagents, and multistep reactions, all at a low cost. Disposable microchips were studied as a potential POCT platform.

Methods: Micron-sized structures and capillaries were embedded in disposable plastics with mechanisms for fluidic control, metering, specimen application, separation, and mixing of nanoliter to microliter volumes.

Detection of low-molecular-weight proteins in urine by dipsticks.

Background: Testing of urines with dipsticks for proteinuria, glycosuria, etc., is common practice. A deficiency with currently available dipsticks is their lack of chemical sensitivity and underestimation of low-molecular-weight proteins such as light chains.