New Biosensor for Most Serious Form of Listeria Food Poisoning Bacteria
Summary posted by Meridian on 4/22/2009
Source: Nanowerk
Author: n/a
Scientists at Purdue University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States, and the Indian Institute of Technology, India, have developed a new biosensor that is faster and more sensitive than current models for detecting the deadliest strain of Listeria food poisoning bacteria. The bacteria is responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of hospitalizations each year in the United States, and is particularly dangerous for those with weakened immune systems. Other, already available tests, can detect five of the six known species of Listeria, and use antibodies that signal its presence. The researchers in this study are using heat shock proteins, which the body produces in response to stress, to detect Listeria monocytogenes, the deadliest of the Listeria bacteria. Their tests show that the new biosensor has a microbe capture rate up to 83 percent higher than tests using antibodies. Their study appears in the current issue of the American Chemical Society (ACS)'s Analytical Chemistry journal. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
The original article may still be available at www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=10218.php
As tagged by Meridian Institute:
Health And Medical:
Devices, Diseases
Implications:
Human Enhancement, Governance
Nanomaterials:
Metal Nanoparticle
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