Performance Enhancement of a Microfabricated Resonator Using Electrospun Nanoporous Polymer Wire.

A nanoporous poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) wire was prepared by electrospinning under high humidity and attached between two prongs of a microfabricated quartz tuning fork (QTF). Exposure of the QTF to ethanol vapor caused a frequency shift due to a decrease in the modulus of the PMMA wire, and the frequency change increased as the concentration of ethanol vapor increased. The nanoporous wire-coated QTF exhibited higher sensitivity and faster response time than a plain wire-coated QTF, which was attributed to the high surface area and pore networks facilitating the transport of ethanol molecules inside the PMMA wire.

Direct immobilization of antibodies on Zn-doped FeO nanoclusters for detection of pathogenic bacteria.

Zinc-doped magnetic nanoclusters (Zn-MNCs) were synthesized and used to detect pathogenic bacteria in milk. Hydrothermally synthesized Zn-MNCs exhibited stronger magnetic properties than pure MNCs, which facilitated the magnetic separation from the sample using a permanent magnet. The presence of accessible Zn sites allows the direct immobilization of half-fragmented antibodies over Zn-MNCs through strong ZnS bonds and prevents the tedious multiple steps of molecular functionalization or coating with costly noble metals prior to conjugation with an antibody.