Metasurface-assisted Lab-on-fiber optrode for highly sensitive detection of vitamin D

The increasing demand for vitamin D status assessment has highlighted the need for rapid, sensitive, and user-friendly methods for its detection in biological samples potentially integrated in Point-of-Care (PoC) diagnostic devices. Detection of the major circulating form of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-25(OH)D3, is particularly challenging due to the laborious procedures for sample preparation and its low molecular weight (∼400 Da), which requires highly sensitive detection methods. In this study, we developed a novel label-free Lab-on-Fiber biosensing platform for highly sensitive detection of 25(OH)D3 based on the integration of plasmonic metasurfaces (MSs) on the tip of a single-mode optical fiber (OF). A dedicated pipeline was carefully designed and developed to optimize the bio-functionalization of the plasmonic sensor tip to specifically detect the target biomolecule. The resulting MS-assisted Lab-on-fiber platform enables direct and highly sensitive detection of 25(OH)D3 in clinically relevant ranges (4-160 ng/mL), both in buffer solution and complex matrix, with limits of detection (LOD) of 1.40 ng/mL in saline buffer and 0.85 ng/mL in complex matrix. Overall, these results demonstrate that our platform can successfully and specifically detect small molecules in label-free configuration, with performances comparable to those of conventional methods used in clinical practice. The high degree of miniaturization combined with its high sensitivity makes our platform an exceptional building block for realizing valid diagnostic alternatives for label-free detection of clinically relevant analytes, which can be transformed into new low-cost, fast, simple, and ready-to-use PoC diagnostic devices with improved processability and performance compared to current methods.

In-flow real-time detection of spectrally encoded microgels for miRNA absolute quantification

We present an in-flow ultrasensitive fluorescence detection of microRNAs (miRNAs) using spectrally encoded microgels. We researched and employed a viscoelastic fluid to achieve an optimal alignment of microgels in a straight measurement channel and applied a simple and inexpensive microfluidic layout, allowing continuous fluorescence signal acquisitions with several emission wavelengths. In particular, we chose microgels endowed with fluorescent emitting molecules designed for multiplex spectral analysis of specific miRNA types. We analysed in a quasi-real-time manner circa 80 microgel particles a minute at sample volumes down to a few microliters, achieving a miRNA detection limit of 202 fM in microfluidic flow conditions. Such performance opens up new routes for biosensing applications of particles within microfluidic devices.

Magnetophoresis 'meets' viscoelasticity: deterministic separation of magnetic particles in a modular microfluidic device

The deflection of magnetic beads in a microfluidic channel through magnetophoresis can be improved if the particles are somehow focused along the same streamline in the device. We design and fabricate a microfluidic device made of two modules, each one performing a unit operation. A suspension of magnetic beads in a viscoelastic medium is fed to the first module, which is a straight rectangular-shaped channel. Here, the magnetic particles are focused by exploiting fluid viscoelasticity. Such a channel is one inlet of the second module, which is a H-shaped channel, where a buffer stream is injected in the second inlet. A permanent magnet is used to displace the magnetic beads from the original to the buffer stream. Experiments with a Newtonian suspending fluid, where no focusing occurs, are carried out for comparison. When viscoelastic focusing and magnetophoresis are combined, magnetic particles can be deterministically separated from the original streamflow to the buffer, thus leading to a high deflection efficiency (up to ~96%) in a wide range of flow rates. The effect of the focusing length on the deflection of particles is also investigated. Finally, the proposed modular device is tested to separate magnetic and non-magnetic beads.

Gram-scale production of a basidiomycetous laccase in Aspergillus niger

We report on the expression in Aspergillus niger of a laccase gene we used to produce variants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Grams of recombinant enzyme can be easily obtained. This highlights the potential of combining this generic laccase sequence to the yeast and fungal expression systems for large-scale productions of variants.

Pseudomonas fluorescens BBc6R8 type III secretion mutants no longer promote ectomycorrhizal symbiosis

The Mycorrhiza Helper Bacterium (MHB) Pseudomonas fluorescens BBc6R8 promotes the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis between Douglas fir roots and Laccaria bicolor. In this study, we identified a non-flagellar type III secretion system (T3SS) in the draft genome of BBc6R8 similar to that described in the biocontrol strain P. fluorescens SBW25. We examined whether this T3SS plays a role in the BBc6R8 mycorrhizal helper effect by creating a deletion in the rscRST genes encoding the central channel of the injectisome. The in vitro effect of BBc6R8 T3SS mutants on the radial growth rate of L. bicolor was unchanged compared with the parental strain. In contrast, T3SS mutants were unable to promote mycorrhization, suggesting that type III secretion plays an important role in the mycorrhizal helper effect of P. fluorescens BBc6R8 independent of the promotion of hyphal growth that BBc6R8 exhibits in vitro.

Plasticity of laccase generated by homeologous recombination in yeast

Laccase-encoding sequences sharing 65-71% identity were shuffledin vivo by homeologous recombination. Yeast efficiently repaired linearized plasmids containing clac1, clac2 or clac5 Trametes sp. C30 cDNAs using a clac3 PCR fragment. From transformants secreting active variants, three chimeric laccases (LAC131, LAC232 and LAC535), each resulting from double crossovers, were purified, and their apparent kinetic parameters were determined using 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) and syringaldazine (SGZ) as substrates. At acidic pH, the apparent kinetic parameters of the chimera were not distinguishable from each other or from those obtained for the LAC3 enzyme used as reference. On the other hand, the pH tolerance of the variants was visibly extended towards alkaline pH values. Compared to the parental LAC3, a 31-fold increase in apparent k(cat) was observed for LAC131 at pH 8. This factor is one of the highest ever observed for laccase in a single mutagenesis step.

The cold-active Lip1 lipase from the Antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 is a member of a new bacterial lipolytic enzyme family

The genome of the Antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 was searched for the presence of genes encoding ester-hydrolysing enzymes. Amongst the others, the gene PSHAa0051 coding for a putative secreted esterase/lipase was selected. The psychrophilic gene was cloned, functionally over-expressed in P. haloplanktis TAC125, and the recombinant product (after named PhTAC125 Lip1) was purified. PhTAC125 Lip1 was found to be associated to the outer membrane and exhibited higher enzymatic activity towards synthetic substrates with long acyl chains. A structural model was constructed using the structure of carboxylesterase Est30 from Geobacillus stearothermophilus as template. The model covered the central part of the protein with the exceptions of PhTAC125 Lip1 N- and C-terminal regions, where the psychrophilic protein displays extra-domains. The constructed model showed a typical alpha/beta-hydrolase fold, and confirmed the presence of a canonical catalytic triad consisting of Ser, Asp and His. The sequence analysis showed that PhTAC125 Lip1 is distantly related to other lipolytic enzymes, but closely related to other putative psychrophilic esterases/lipases. The aligned proteins share common features, such as: (1) a conserved new active-site pentapeptide motif (LGG(F/L/Y)STG); (2) the likely extra-cytoplasmic localization, (3) the absence of a typical calcium-binding pocket, and (4) the absence of a canonical lid. These observations strongly suggest that aligned proteins constitute a novel lipase family, typical of psychrophilic marine gamma-proteobacteria, and PhTAC125 Lip1 could be considered the first characterised member of this family.