Membrane chromatographic immunoassay method for rapid quantitative analysis of specific serum antibodies

Boosting the Electrochemical Performance of PI-5-CA/C-SWCNT Nanohybrid for Sensitive Detection of E. coli O157:H7 From the Real Sample

Redox activity is an important indicator for evaluating electrochemical biosensors. In this work, we have successfully polymerized indole-5-carboxylic acid into poly-5-carboxyindole nanomaterials (PI-5-CA), using its superior redox activity, and introduced carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes (C-SWCNTs) to synthesize a composite material. Finally, a synthesized composite material was used for the modification of the glass carbon electrode to fabricate the PI-5-CA/C-SWCNTs/GCE-based immunosensor and was successfully applied for the sensitive detection of E. coli O157:H7. The fabricated immunosensor exhibited an outstanding electrocatalytic activity toward the detection of E. coli O157:H7 with a remarkably lowest limit of detection (2.5 CFU/ml, LOD = 3 SD/k, n = 3) and has a wide linear range from 2.98×101 to 2.98×107 CFU/ml. Inspired from the excellent results, the fabricated electrode was applied for the detection of bacteria from real samples (water samples) with a good recovery rate (98.13–107.69%) as well as an excellent stability and specificity. Owing to its simple preparation, excellent performance, and detection time within 30 min, our proposed immunosensor will open a new horizon in different fields for the sensitive detection of bacteria from real samples.

A survey of bioengineering research in Canada-2007

Research activity in bioengineering at Canadian universities has been surveyed. Details were provided by chemical engineering departments in response to a common request for information on activities by individual researchers and for key publications. The information provided has been grouped by topics within the broad theme of "Bioengineering," and contributions from individual departments have been summarized within these topics. Although many aspects of bioengineering research are being pursued in Canada, it would appear as though environmental biotechnology, biomaterials, and tissue/cell culture are the most active areas under investigation.

Membrane adsorbers as purification tools for monoclonal antibody purification

Downstream purification processes for monoclonal antibody production typically involve multiple steps; some of them are conventionally performed by bead-based column chromatography. Affinity chromatography with Protein A is the most selective method for protein purification and is conventionally used for the initial capturing step to facilitate rapid volume reduction as well as separation of the antibody. However, conventional affinity chromatography has some limitations that are inherent with the method, it exhibits slow intraparticle diffusion and high pressure drop within the column. Membrane-based separation processes can be used in order to overcome these mass transfer limitations. The ligand is immobilized in the membrane pores and the convective flow brings the solute molecules very close to the ligand and hence minimizes the diffusional limitations associated with the beads. Nonetheless, the adoption of this technology has been slow because membrane chromatography has been limited by a lower binding capacity than that of conventional columns, even though the high flux advantages provided by membrane adsorbers would lead to higher productivity. This review considers the use of membrane adsorbers as an alternative technology for capture and polishing steps for the purification of monoclonal antibodies. Promising industrial applications as well as new trends in research will be addressed.