Electrostatic microfiltration (EM) enriches and recovers viable microorganisms at low-abundance in large-volume samples and enhances downstream detection.

Rapid and sensitive detection of pathogens in various samples is crucial for disease diagnosis, environmental surveillance, as well as food and water safety monitoring. However, the low abundance of pathogens (<10 CFU) in large volume (1 mL-1 L) samples containing vast backgrounds critically limits the sensitivity of even the most advanced techniques, such as digital PCR. Therefore, there is a critical need for sample preparation that can enrich low-abundance pathogens from complex and large-volume samples.

Design of Biodegradable, Climate-Specific Packaging Materials That Sense Food Spoilage and Extend Shelf Life.

The AgriFood systems in tropical climates are under strain due to a rapid increase in human population and extreme environmental conditions that limit the efficacy of packaging technologies to extend food shelf life and guarantee food safety. To address these challenges, we rationally designed biodegradable packaging materials that sense spoilage and prevent molding. We nanofabricated the interface of 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to reinforce silk fibroin (SF) and obtain biodegradable membranes with augmented mechanical properties and that displayed an immediate colorimetric response (within 1 s) to food spoilage, using packaged poultry as an example.