Bioconjugated magnetic nanoparticles for the detection of bacteria.

Blood culture is traditionally a time-consuming method and has not changed significantly in several decades. Using nanotechnology, such as the use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), the blood culture process may be streamlined. An important advantage of using MNPs to capture bacteria is the simple separation of bacteria from biological samples using magnets.

Single step, rapid identification of pathogenic microorganisms in a culture bottle.

Efforts to treat bloodstream infections, which have a relatively high mortality rate, are delayed by the lengthy multi-step process required to identify the causative bacteria. Due to this delay, broad spectrum antibiotics are prescribed on a presumptive basis, leading to the rise of antibiotic resistant microorganisms. Here, as proof of principle, we describe a colourimetric sensor that rapidly identifies opportunistic pathogenic bacteria in a single step in TSB media.

Layer by layer assembly of biotinylated protein networks for signal amplification.

Described herein is a unique and inexpensive method that outperforms commercial methods that amplify the streptavidin-biotin recognition event. Amplification induced by streptavidin and biotinylated protein causes the formation of a large detectable polymer. This approach enjoys a 100-fold decrease in detection limit in comparison with the commercial methods.

The effects of substituents on the geometry of π-π interactions.

We have designed and utilized a simple molecular recognition system to study the substituent effects in aromatic interactions. Recently, we showed that 3- and 3,5-disubstituted benzoyl leucine diethyl amides with aromatic rings of varying electronic character organized into homochiral dimers in the solid state through a parallel displaced π-π interaction and two hydrogen bonds, but no such homochiral dimerization was observed for the unsubstituted case. This phenomenon supports the hypothesis that substituents stabilize π-π interactions regardless of their electronic character.