Beabout K, Ehrenworth Breedon AM, Blum SM, Miklos AE, Lux MW, Chávez JL, Goodson MS. Detection of Bile Acids in Complex Matrices Using a Transcription Factor-Based Biosensor.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2023;
9:5151-5162. [PMID:
36475595 DOI:
10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c01006]
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Abstract
Bile acids play an important role in digestion and human health, are found throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and are excreted in feces. Therefore, bile acids are promising biomarkers for monitoring health and detecting fecal contamination in water sources. Here, we engineered a bile acid sensor by expressing the transcription factor BreR, a TetR-like repressor from Vibrio cholorae, in Escherichia coli. The sensor was further optimized by screening a promoter library. To further characterize the BreR sensor and increase its utility, we moved expression to a cell-free expression (CFE) system, resulting in an approximately 3 orders of magnitude increase in deoxycholic acid sensitivity. We next optimized this sensor to detect bile acids in fecal water, wastewater, and serum and transferred the CFE sensor to a paper-based assay to enhance fieldability.
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