A rapid culture independent methodology to quantitatively detect and identify common human bacterial pathogens associated with contaminated high purity water

Background: Water and High Purity Water (HPW) distribution systems can be contaminated with human pathogenic microorganisms. This biocontamination may pose a risk to human health as HPW is commonly used in the industrial, pharmaceutical and clinical sectors. Currently, routine microbiological testing of HPW is performed using slow and labour intensive traditional microbiological based techniques. There is a need to develop a rapid culture independent methodology to quantitatively detect and identify biocontamination associated with HPW. Results: A novel internally controlled 5-plex real-time PCR Nucleic Acid Diagnostics assay (NAD), was designed and optimised in accordance with Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments guidelines, to rapidly detect, identify and quantify the human pathogenic bacteriaStenotrophomonas maltophilia, Burkholderia species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescenswhich are commonly associated with the biocontamination of water and water distribution systems. The specificity of the 5-plex assay was tested against genomic DNA isolated from a panel of 95 microorganisms with no cross reactivity observed. The analytical sensitivities of the S. maltophilia, B. cepacia, P. aeruginosa and the S. marcescens assays are 8.5, 5.7, 3.2 and 7.4 genome equivalents respectively. Subsequently, an analysis of HPW supplied by a Millipore Elix 35 water purification unit performed using standard microbiological methods revealed high levels of naturally occurring microbiological contamination. Five litre water samples from this HPW delivery system were also filtered and genomic DNA was purified directly from these filters. These DNA samples were then tested using the developed multiplex real-time PCR NAD assay and despite the high background microbiological contamination observed, both S. maltophilia andBurkholderia species were quantitatively detected and identified. At both sampling points the levels of both S. maltophilia and Burkholderia species present was above the threshold of 10 cfu/100 ml recommended by both EU and US guidelines. Conclusions: The novel culture independent methodology described in this study allows for rapid (<5 h), quantitative detection and identification of these four human pathogens from biocontaminated water and HPW distribution systems. We propose that the described NAD assay and associated methodology could be applied to routine testing of water and HPW distribution systems to assure microbiological safety and high water quality standards

Space and biotechnology: An industry profile

The results of a study conducted by the Center for Space and Advanced Technology (CSAT) for NASA-JSC are presented. The objectives were to determine the interests and attitudes of the U.S. biotechnology industry toward space biotechnology and to prepare a concise review of the current activities of the biotechnology industry. In order to accomplish these objectives, two primary actions were taken. First, a questionnaire was designed, reviewed, and distributed to U.S. biotechnology companies. Second, reviews of the various biotechnology fields were prepared in several aspects of the industry. For each review, leading figures in the field were asked to prepare a brief review pointing out key trends and current industry technical problems. The result is a readable narrative of the biotechnology industry which will provide space scientists and engineers valuable clues as to where the space environment can be explored to advance the U.S. biotechnology industry

The roles of nanotechnology and internet of nano things in healthcare transformation

La salud, como derecho humano básico, no ha permanecido inmune a las tecnologías innovadoras. El progreso tecnológico ha contribuido significativamente a un servicio de salud de alta calidad, aceptable y asequible. Desde su aparición, la nanotecnología y el Internet de las Nanocosas (IoNT, por sus siglas en inglés) han cambiado la atención médica y han influenciado tremendamente su transformación para obtener mejores resultados. La inclusión de la nanotecnología en medicina a través de nanomateriales y nanodispositivos se conoce como nanomedicina. Esta ha brindado numerosos beneficios a la prevención, diagnóstico y tratamiento de enfermedades. Al ir más allá y conectar los nanodispositivos a Internet, nació el paradigma del IoNT. La inclusión de conceptos del IoNT en los servicios de salud ha resultado en monitoreo y tratamiento más personalizados, oportunos y convenientes. Por estos motivos, la nanotecnología y el IoNT tienen el potencial para revolucionar completamente la asistencia médica en el siglo XXI, creando un sistema que permitirá la detección y diagnóstico tempranos de enfermedades, seguidos por un tratamiento preciso, oportuno y efectivo con costos significativamente menores. Este artículo presenta el papel que la nanotecnología y el IoNT tienen en medicina y los servicios de salud. Además, intenta ampliar el conocimiento sobre las soluciones y enfoques a nanoescala, resaltando los beneficios y analizando los riesgos y preocupaciones potenciales. A pesar de los miedos relacionados con la nanotoxicidad y privacidad, se anticipa que la nanotecnología y el IoNT muestren todo su potencial en el campo de la medicina y la salud en los próximos años.Healthcare, as a basic human right, did not remain immune to innovative technologies. Technological progress has significantly contributed to high-quality, on-time, acceptable and affordable healthcare. Since their appearance, nanotechnology and the Internet of Nano Things (IoNT) have continuously affected healthcare and have a tremendous influence on its transformation, contributing to the better outcome. The inclusion of nanotechnology in medicine through nanomaterials and nanodevices, known as nanomedicine, has brought numerous benefits in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Going further by connecting nanodevices to the Internet, the IoNT paradigm has been created. The inclusion of IoNT concepts in healthcare has resulted in more personalized, timely, and convenient health monitoring and treatment. Hence, nanotechnology and the IoNT hold the potential to completely revolutionize healthcare in the 21st Century, creating a system that will enable early disease detection and diagnosis followed by accurate, on-time and effective treatment with significantly reduced healthcare costs. This paper presents the roles of nanotechnology and IoNT in medicine and healthcare, and attempts to gain an insight of nanoscale solutions and approaches, highlighting benefits and discussing potential risks and concerns. Despite concerns regarding nanotoxicity, privacy and security issues, it is anticipated that nanotechnology and IoNT will show their full potential in medicine and healthcare in the years to come

MicroRNA Biomarkers for Infectious Diseases: From Basic Research to Biosensing

In the pursuit of improved diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, several classes of molecules have been scrutinized as prospective biomarkers. Small (18–22 nucleotide), non-coding RNA transcripts called microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as promising candidates with extensive diagnostic potential, due to their role in numerous diseases, previously established methods for quantitation and their stability within biofluids. Despite efforts to identify, characterize and apply miRNA signatures as diagnostic markers in a range of non-infectious diseases, their application in infectious disease has advanced relatively slowly. Here, we outline the benefits that miRNA biomarkers offer to the diagnosis, management, and treatment of infectious diseases. Investigation of these novel biomarkers could advance the use of personalized medicine in infectious disease treatment, which raises important considerations for validating their use as diagnostic or prognostic markers. Finally, we discuss new and emerging miRNA detection platforms, with a focus on rapid, point-of-care testing, to evaluate the benefits and obstacles of miRNA biomarkers for infectious disease

Wearable electrochemical biosensors in North America

Tremendous research and commercialization efforts around the world are focused on developing novel wearable electrochemical biosensors that can noninvasively and continuously screen for biochemical markers in body fluids for the prognosis, diagnosis and management of diseases, as well as the monitoring of fitness. Researchers in North America are leading the development of innovative wearable platforms that can comfortably comply to the human body and efficiently sample fluids such as sweat, interstitial fluids, tear and saliva for the electrochemical detection of biomarkers through various sensing approaches such as potentiometric ion selective electrodes and amperometric enzymatic sensors. We start this review with a historical timeline overviewing the major milestones in the development of wearable electrochemical sensors by North American institutions. We then describe how such research efforts have led to pioneering developments and are driving the advancement and commercialization of wearable electrochemical sensors: from minimally invasive continuous glucose monitors for chronic disease management to non-invasive sweat electrolyte sensors for dehydration monitoring in fitness applications. While many countries across the globe have contributed significantly to this rapidly emerging field, their contributions are beyond the scope of this review. Furthermore, we share our perspective on the promising future of wearable electrochemical sensors in applications spanning from remote and personalized healthcare to wellness

DNA Logic-A novel approach to semiconductor based genetics

In the coming years, genetic test results will be increasingly used as indicators that influence medical decision-making. With chronic disease on the rise and the continuing global spread of infectious disease, novel instruments able to detect relevant mutations in a point-of-care setting are being developed to facilitate this increased demand in personalized health care. However, diagnosis for such demand often requires laboratory facilities and skilled personnel, meaning that diagnostic tests are restricted by time and access. This thesis presents a novel configuration for Ion sensitive Field Effect Transistors (ISFETs) to be used as a threshold detector during nucleic acid base pairs match. ISFET-based inverters are used as reaction threshold detectors to convey the chemical reaction level to a logic output once a threshold has been reached. Using this method, novel DNA logic functions are derived for nucleotides allowing local digital computations. The thesis also presents business models that enable such technology to be utilised in point of care applications, and experiment as results and business models given for an HIV point of care example are proposed

Filling the knowledge gap: scoping review regarding sampling methods, assays, and further requirements to assess airborne viruses

This research was funded by Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal for funding the Projects IPL/2023/FoodAIIEU_ESTeSL; IPL/2023/ASPRisk_ESTeSL; IPL/2023/ARAFSawmil_ESTeSL. Authors gratefully acknowledge the FCT/MCTES national support through the UIDB/05608/2020 and UIDP/05608/2020 and the PhD Grant UI/BD/151431/2021. This work was also supported by national funds through FCT/MCTES/FSE/UE, UI/BD/153746/2022, UI/BD/153746/2022, and CE3C unit UIDB/00329/2020 within the scope of a PhD Grant. The authors also acknowledge the financial support of the European Commission under grant INCHILDHEALTH, which was funded from the H2020 RTD Framework Programme of the European Union (Grant agreement no: 101056883) and PhD Grant IPL/2022/InChildhealth/BI/12M.Assessment of occupational exposure to viruses is crucial to identify virus reservoirs and sources of dissemination early and to help prevent spread between employees and the general population. Measuring workers' exposure can facilitate the assessment of the effectiveness of protective and mitigation measures in place. This scoping review aims to give an overview of available methods and those already implemented for airborne virus exposure assessment in different occupational and indoor environments. The results retrieved from the various studies may contribute to the setting of future standards and guidelines to ensure a reliable risk characterization in the occupational environments crucial for the implementation of effective control measures. The search aimed at selecting studies between January 1st, 2010, and June 30th, 2023 in the selected databases. Fifty papers on virus exposure assessment fitted the eligibility criteria and were selected for data extraction. Overall, this study identified gaps in knowledge regarding virus assessment and pinpointed the need for further research. Several discrepancies were found (transport temperatures, elution steps, …), as well as a lack of publication of important data related to the exposure conditions (contextual information). With the available information, it is impossible to compare results between studies employing different methods, and even if the same methods are used, different conclusions/ recommendations based on expert judgment have been reported due to the lack of consensus in the contextual information retrieved and/or data interpretation. Future research on the field targeting sampling methods and in the laboratory regarding the assays to employ should be developed bearing in mind the different goals of the assessment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fully Integrated Biochip Platforms for Advanced Healthcare

Recent advances in microelectronics and biosensors are enabling developments of innovative biochips for advanced healthcare by providing fully integrated platforms for continuous monitoring of a large set of human disease biomarkers. Continuous monitoring of several human metabolites can be addressed by using fully integrated and minimally invasive devices located in the sub-cutis, typically in the peritoneal region. This extends the techniques of continuous monitoring of glucose currently being pursued with diabetic patients. However, several issues have to be considered in order to succeed in developing fully integrated and minimally invasive implantable devices. These innovative devices require a high-degree of integration, minimal invasive surgery, long-term biocompatibility, security and privacy in data transmission, high reliability, high reproducibility, high specificity, low detection limit and high sensitivity. Recent advances in the field have already proposed possible solutions for several of these issues. The aim of the present paper is to present a broad spectrum of recent results and to propose future directions of development in order to obtain fully implantable systems for the continuous monitoring of the human metabolism in advanced healthcare applications