微生物学技术

Many important analytes are present in the ocean water and primary examples include various marine toxins. The unique marine environment possesses an extremely high ionic strength, posing a significant analytical challenge for biosensor design. Protein-based enzymes and antib ...

There is a need for low-cost, rapid, and accurate detection of harmful organisms. Some species of the marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium produce paralytic shellfish toxins that can accumulate in shellfish tissue and can cause paralysis and death if ingested by humans. We have developed a me ...

Heavy metal contamination of oceans, lakes, and other water resources can occur by both natural and human-related processes. Human exposure to heavy metals such as mercury is known to cause a number of serious health problems. Due to its high toxicity and bioaccumulative properties, the maxim ...

The ocean contains a number of metal ions that are either beneficial or detrimental to marine lives or ecology. Developing sensors for on-site and real-time detection of these metal ions plays an important role in our understanding the ocean as well as its protection. DNAzymes, DNA molecules with ...

We present an example-based methodology for the “open-water” technique to determine net ecosystem metabolism (or net community metabolism) of coastal and oceanic environments using dissolved oxygen measurements collected with in situ sensors. We briefly discuss strategies f ...

A miniaturized and self-contained in situ genetic analyzer Integrated In Situ Analyzer-Gene (IISA-Gene) was developed to conduct PCR-based targeted sequence detection using microfluidic technology. The core element of the in situ analyzer is a microfluidic device that conducts c ...

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is well established as an innovative sampling and instrument platform for sensors designed for in situ monitoring of micro�organisms in the ocean. The platform can be deployed for periods up to 3 months a ...

In order to assess the diversity and function of microbial communities most effectively, molecular assays need to be designed that target the phylogenetic markers and functional genes that are key to major ecological processes and microorganisms. A streamlined design process is pres ...

Magnetoresistive bioassays, in which the traditional optical labels are replaced by magnetic labels, hold the promise of increased response speed, sensitivity, and portability in the detection system. These properties make these systems ideal for the monitoring of microbiolog ...

We report on the development of a sandwich hybridization assay on an electrode surface-based sensor device for the detection of toxic algae. This DNA (rRNA)-based sensor uses an electrochemical detection of a target sequence by means of its hybridization to a capture probe, with an attachment ...

Marine toxins need a continuous monitoring system that is usually implemented in most producer and consumer countries. This is needed to protect consumers, as marine toxins are very toxic compounds. Up to now, the mouse bioassay has been the method of choice, but there is a legal requirement in Euro ...

An IISA-ATP (integrated in situ analyzer for ATP) was developed for the quantitative determination of ATP (adenosine-5′-triphosphate) in ocean environments, including the deep-sea. Total (intracellular and dissolved) ATP was quantitatively determined using a simple lucifer ...

Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are a common cause of life-threatening events in immunocompromised patients. Early detection and identification of the fungal pathogen is an important prerequisite for timely onset of the most appropriate treatment. Methods based on fungal cultu ...

The multiplexing qualities of padlock probes and Luminex™ technology combined with the well-established quantitative feature of qPCR were the base for a ten-plex fungal detection protocol that quantitatively reveals ten different fungal species in a single experiment. Padlock p ...

The polymerase chain reaction is a powerful molecular tool for the detection and analysis of very small amounts of DNA. Today, hybridization probes are often used in real-time PCR for more sensitive and specific detection of pathogens and for determination of gene regulation or mutation ana ...

Rapid and quantitative detection of Aspergillus from clinical samples may facilitate an early diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). As nucleic acid-based detection is a viable option, we demonstrate that Aspergillus burdens can be rapidly and accurately detected ...

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been widely used for the detection and identification of microorganisms in their natural environments. In this chapter we describe the use of a simple FISH-based protocol to detect and identify clinically relevant yeast species in culture ...

The identification of fungal pathogens, though continuously improving, is still time-consuming and often inadequate for ensuring an early targeted therapy, which may be crucial for the treatment of invasive mycoses. Here, we describe a DNA-microarray system based on the arrayed-pri ...

The rapid and inexpensive extraction of fungal genomic DNA that is of sufficient quality for molecular approaches is central to the molecular identification, epidemiological analysis, taxonomy, and strain typing of pathogenic fungi. Although many commercially available and in ...

Fungi and yeasts are critical causes of acute infection. As such, the detection and identification of these organisms are crucial in the diagnosis of affected patient populations. There is a vast array of commercial tests currently available for diagnostic purposes. These vary from tradi ...