scholarly journals Smartphone-Based Whole-Cell Biosensor Platform Utilizing an Immobilization Approach on a Filter Membrane Disk for the Monitoring of Water Toxicants

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 5486
Author(s):  
Junning Ma ◽  
Dorin Harpaz ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Evgeni Eltzov
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Medical Diagnostics ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Filter Membrane ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Bacterial Immobilization ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Whole Cell Biosensor ◽  
Membrane Disk

Bioluminescent bacteria whole-cell biosensors (WCBs) have been widely used in a range of sensing applications in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. However, most of them use planktonic bacteria cells that require complicated signal measurement processes and therefore limit the portability of the biosensor device. In this study, a simple and low-cost immobilization method was examined. The bioluminescent bioreporter bacteria was absorbed on a filter membrane disk. Further optimization of the immobilization process was conducted by comparing different surface materials (polyester and parafilm) or by adding glucose and ampicillin. The filter membrane disks with immobilized bacteria cells were stored at −20 °C for three weeks without a compromise in the stability of its biosensing functionality for water toxicants monitoring. Also, the bacterial immobilized disks were integrated with smartphones-based signal detection. Then, they were exposed to water samples with ethanol, chloroform, and H2O2, as common toxicants. The sensitivity of the smartphone-based WCB for the detection of ethanol, chloroform, and H2O2 was 1% (v/v), 0.02% (v/v), and 0.0006% (v/v), respectively. To conclude, this bacterial immobilization approach demonstrated higher sensitivity, portability, and improved storability than the planktonic counterpart. The developed smartphone-based WCB establishes a model for future applications in the detection of environmental water toxicants.

scholarly journals Detection of Bioavailable Cadmium by Double-Color Fluorescence Based on a Dual-Sensing Bioreporter System

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-ye Hui ◽  
Yan Guo ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
Lisa Liu ◽  
Xue-qin Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Simultaneous Detection ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Whole Cell Biosensor ◽  
Cell Biosensor ◽  
Dual Sensing

Cadmium (Cd) is carcinogenic to humans and can accumulate in the liver, kidneys, and bones. There is widespread presence of cadmium in the environment as a consequence of anthropogenic activities. It is important to detect cadmium in the environment to prevent further exposure to humans. Previous whole-cell biosensor designs were focused on single-sensing constructs but have had difficulty in distinguishing cadmium from other metal ions such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). We developed a dual-sensing bacterial bioreporter system to detect bioavailable cadmium by employing CadC and CadR as separate metal sensory elements and eGFP and mCherry as fluorescent reporters in one genetic construct. The capability of this dual-sensing biosensor was proved to simultaneously detect bioavailable cadmium and its toxic effects using two sets of sensing systems while still maintaining similar specificity and sensitivity of respective signal-sensing biosensors. The productions of double-color fluorescence were directly proportional to the exposure concentration of cadmium, thereby serving as an effective quantitative biosensor to detect bioavailable cadmium. This novel dual-sensing biosensor was then validated to respond to Cd(II) spiked in environmental water samples. This is the first report of the development of a novel dual-sensing, whole-cell biosensor for simultaneous detection of bioavailable cadmium. The application of two biosensing modules provides versatile biosensing signals and improved performance that can make a significant impact on monitoring high concentration of bioavailable Cd(II) in environmental water to reduce human exposure to the harmful effects of cadmium.

LASER Reduced Graphene on Flexible Substrate for Strain Sensing Applications: Temperature Effect on Gauge Factor

2015 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. 115-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahour Sayed ◽  
Mohammed Gamil ◽  
Ahmed M.R. Fath El-Bab ◽  
Ahmed Abd El Moneim Abd Elmoneim
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Flexible Substrate ◽  
Graphene Film ◽  
Gauge Factor ◽  
Strain Sensing ◽  
Commercial Strain ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Poly Ethylene Terephthalate ◽  
Poly Ethylene ◽  
The Stability

New technique is developed to synthesize graphene film on flexible substrate for strain sensing applications. A flexible graphene/Poly-ethylene Terephthalate (PET) strain sensor based on graphene piezoresistivity is produced by a new simple low cost technique. Graphene oxide film on PET substrate is reduced and patterned simultaneously using 2 Watt CO2LASER beam. The synthesized graphene film is characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and Raman techniques. Commercial strain gauges are used to predict experimentally the gauge factor (GF) of the graphene film at different values of applied strain. The stability of the graphene film and its GF are studied at different operating temperatures. The fabricated sensor showed high GF of 78 with great linearity and stability up to 60 °C.

MOCVD OF SnO2 on Silicon Microhotplate Arrays for use un Gas Sensing Applications

1995 ◽  
Vol 415 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Dimeo ◽  
S. Semancik ◽  
R.E. Cavicchi ◽  
J.S. Suehle ◽  
P. Chaparala ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Gas Sensing ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Medical Diagnostics ◽  
Electrical Contacts ◽  
Quantitative Detection ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Resistive Heater

ABSTRACTThe quantitative detection of gas concentrations in mixed atmospheres is becoming increasingly important in manufacturing processing, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostics. Several conductive oxides, such as SnO2, ZnO, and TiO2, are well known to exhibit changes in resistivity when exposed to various gases at temperatures ranging from 200–500°C. Current discrete devices based on resistive changes such as the Taguchi sensor, however, suffer from certain performance problems, including poor gas detection specificity. Integrated arrays of sensors, fabricated using planar technology, offer a promising solution to these problems, as well as other benefits such as low power consumption and low cost.In this paper, we report the results of using Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) to fabricate thin films of SnO2 on microhotplate arrays. The studied arrays contain 4 micromachined, suspended elements, each having an integrated resistive heater that produces a rapid thermal rise time ∼3 msec. By separately heating individual elements, we can take advantage of the thermally selective nature of the MOCVD process to limit deposition to these areas, resulting in a maskless deposition process. In addition, these array elements have surface electrical contacts that permit the measurement of the resistance of the thin films during deposition, as well as when they are operated in a gas sensing mode. In situ growth measurements will be reported.

scholarly journals Whole-Cell Biosensor with Tunable Limit of Detection Enables Low-Cost Agglutination Assays for Medical Diagnostic Applications

ACS Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 370-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Kylilis ◽  
Pinpunya Riangrungroj ◽  
Hung-En Lai ◽  
Valencio Salema ◽  
Luis Ángel Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Limit Of Detection ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Medical Diagnostic ◽  
Diagnostic Applications ◽  
Whole Cell Biosensor ◽  
Cell Biosensor

Computer simulation study about the dependence of amorphous silicon photonic waveguides efficiency on the material quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 30502
Author(s):  
Alessandro Fantoni ◽  
João Costa ◽  
Paulo Lourenço ◽  
Manuela Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Sidewall Roughness ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Fabrication Defects ◽  
The Impact

Amorphous silicon PECVD photonic integrated devices are promising candidates for low cost sensing applications. This manuscript reports a simulation analysis about the impact on the overall efficiency caused by the lithography imperfections in the deposition process. The tolerance to the fabrication defects of a photonic sensor based on surface plasmonic resonance is analysed. The simulations are performed with FDTD and BPM algorithms. The device is a plasmonic interferometer composed by an a-Si:H waveguide covered by a thin gold layer. The sensing analysis is performed by equally splitting the input light into two arms, allowing the sensor to be calibrated by its reference arm. Two different 1 × 2 power splitter configurations are presented: a directional coupler and a multimode interference splitter. The waveguide sidewall roughness is considered as the major negative effect caused by deposition imperfections. The simulation results show that plasmonic effects can be excited in the interferometric waveguide structure, allowing a sensing device with enough sensitivity to support the functioning of a bio sensor for high throughput screening. In addition, the good tolerance to the waveguide wall roughness, points out the PECVD deposition technique as reliable method for the overall sensor system to be produced in a low-cost system. The large area deposition of photonics structures, allowed by the PECVD method, can be explored to design a multiplexed system for analysis of multiple biomarkers to further increase the tolerance to fabrication defects.

The Role of Hydrophobicity in the Stability and pH-Switchability of (RXDX)4 and Coumarin-RXDX Conjugate β-Sheets

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Weber ◽  
Martin McCullagh
Keyword(s):  
Biological Imaging ◽  
Ph Sensing ◽  
Hydrophobic Residue ◽  
Ideal Candidate ◽  
Self Assembling ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Β Sheets ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Dynamics Simulations

<p>pH-switchable, self-assembling materials are of interest in biological imaging and sensing applications. Here we propose that combining the pH-switchability of RXDX (X=Ala, Val, Leu, Ile, Phe) peptides and the optical properties of coumarin creates an ideal candidate for these materials. This suggestion is tested with a thorough set of all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. We first investigate the dependence of pH-switchabiliy on the identity of the hydrophobic residue, X, in the bare (RXDX)<sub>4</sub> systems. Increasing the hydrophobicity stabilizes the fiber which, in turn, reduces the pH-switchabilty of the system. This behavior is found to be somewhat transferable to systems in which a single hydrophobic residue is replaced with a coumarin containing amino acid. In this case, conjugates with X=Ala are found to be unstable and both pHs while conjugates with X=Val, Leu, Ile and Phe are found to form stable β-sheets at least at neutral pH. The (RFDF)<sub>4</sub>-coumarin conjugate is found to have the largest relative entropy value of 0.884 +/- 0.001 between neutral and acidic coumarin ordering distributions. Thus, we posit that coumarin-(RFDF)<sub>4</sub> containing peptide sequences are ideal candidates for pH-sensing bioelectronic materials.</p>

scholarly journals Development and Characterization of Two Types of Surface Displayed Levansucrases for Levan Biosynthesis

Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Huiyi Shang ◽  
Danni Yang ◽  
Dairong Qiao ◽  
Hui Xu ◽  
Yi Cao
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Display ◽  
Yeast Surface Display ◽  
Fusion Partner ◽  
Whole Cell ◽  
Food Industries ◽  
Yeast Surface ◽  
The Stability

Levan has wide applications in chemical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food industries. The free levansucrase is usually used in the biosynthesis of levan, but the poor reusability and low stability of free levansucrase have limited its large-scale use. To address this problem, the surface-displayed levansucrase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were generated and evaluated in this study. The levansucrase from Zymomonas mobilis was displayed on the cell surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY100 using a various yeast surface display platform. The N-terminal fusion partner is based on a-agglutinin, and the C-terminal one is Flo1p. The yield of levan produced by these two whole-cell biocatalysts reaches 26 g/L and 34 g/L in 24 h, respectively. Meanwhile, the stability of the surface-displayed levansucrases is significantly enhanced. After six reuses, these two biocatalysts retained over 50% and 60% of their initial activities, respectively. Furthermore, the molecular weight and polydispersity test of the products suggested that the whole-cell biocatalyst of levansucrase displayed by Flo1p has more potentials in the production of levan with low molecular weight which is critical in certain applications. In conclusion, our method not only enable the possibility to reuse the enzyme, but also improves the stability of the enzyme.

scholarly journals Exploring the Structural Competition between the Black and the Yellow Phase of CsPbI3

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1282
Author(s):  
Ioannis Deretzis ◽  
Corrado Bongiorno ◽  
Giovanni Mannino ◽  
Emanuele Smecca ◽  
Salvatore Sanzaro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Perovskite Phase ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Δ Phase ◽  
Nanocrystalline Structures ◽  
Halide Perovskites ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Structural Competition ◽  
Lead Halide ◽  
Main Candidate ◽  
Spontaneous Phase

The realization of stable inorganic perovskites is crucial to enable low-cost solution-processed photovoltaics. However, the main candidate material, CsPbI3, suffers from a spontaneous phase transition at room temperature towards a photo-inactive orthorhombic δ-phase (yellow phase). Here we used theoretical and experimental methods to study the structural and electronic features that determine the stability of the CsPbI3 perovskite. We argued that the two physical characteristics that favor the black perovskite phase at low temperatures are the strong spatial confinement in nanocrystalline structures and the level of electron doping in the material. Within this context, we discussed practical procedures for the realization of long-lasting inorganic lead halide perovskites.

scholarly journals Current Trends in Polymer Based Sensors

Chemosensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Giancarla Alberti ◽  
Camilla Zanoni ◽  
Vittorio Losi ◽  
Lisa Rita Magnaghi ◽  
Raffaela Biesuz
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Structure ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Manufacturing Methods ◽  
New Devices

This review illustrates various types of polymer and nanocomposite polymeric based sensors used in a wide variety of devices. Moreover, it provides an overview of the trends and challenges in sensor research. As fundamental components of new devices, polymers play an important role in sensing applications. Indeed, polymers offer many advantages for sensor technologies: their manufacturing methods are pretty simple, they are relatively low-cost materials, and they can be functionalized and placed on different substrates. Polymers can participate in sensing mechanisms or act as supports for the sensing units. Another good quality of polymer-based materials is that their chemical structure can be modified to enhance their reactivity, biocompatibility, resistance to degradation, and flexibility.

scholarly journals Longevity of Raw and Lyophilized Crude Urease Extracts

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-334
Author(s):  
Neda Javadi ◽  
Hamed Khodadadi Tirkolaei ◽  
Nasser Hamdan ◽  
Edward Kavazanjian
Keyword(s):  
Crude Extract ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Crude Extracts ◽  
Simple Extraction ◽  
Commercial Applications ◽  
Stable Source ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Cost

The stability (longevity of activity) of three crude urease extracts was evaluated in a laboratory study as part of an effort to reduce the cost of urease for applications that do not require high purity enzyme. A low-cost, stable source of urease will greatly facilitate engineering applications of urease such as biocementation of soil. Inexpensive crude extracts of urease have been shown to be effective at hydrolyzing urea for carbonate precipitation. However, some studies have suggested that the activity of a crude extract may decrease with time, limiting the potential for its mass production for commercial applications. The stability of crude urease extracts shown to be effective for biocementation was studied. The crude extracts were obtained from jack beans via a simple extraction process, stored at room temperature and at 4 ℃, and periodically tested to evaluate their stability. To facilitate storage and transportation of the extracted enzyme, the longevity of the enzyme following freeze drying (lyophilization) to reduce the crude extract to a powder and subsequent re-hydration into an aqueous solution was evaluated. In an attempt to improve the shelf life of the lyophilized extract, dextran and sucrose were added during lyophilization. The stability of purified commercial urease following rehydration was also investigated. Results of the laboratory tests showed that the lyophilized crude extract maintained its activity during storage more effectively than either the crude extract solution or the rehydrated commercial urease. While incorporating 2% dextran (w/v) prior to lyophilization of the crude extract increased the overall enzymatic activity, it did not enhance the stability of the urease during storage.

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