Embodiments provided herein include methods, compositions, and uses of aromatic alcohols to increase the potency of antifungal agents.

The present invention provides a method for quantitatively detecting β-1,3-1,6-glucan separately from β-1,3-glucan and β-1,3-1,4-glucan. The present invention is a method for measuring β-1,3-1,6-glucan, the method including: a step for mixing β-glucan in a test sample, a molecule that specifically binds to a β-(1.fwdarw.3) bond, and a molecule that specifically binds to a β-(1.fwdarw.6) bond to form a complex containing the molecule that specifically binds to a β-(1.fwdarw.3) bond and the molecule that specifically binds to a β-(1.fwdarw.6) bond; a step for detecting the complex; and a step for measuring the amount of β-1,3-1,6-glucan in the test sample, on the basis of the results of the detection.

A method (100) for detecting mycotoxins in organic material, wherein the method (100) comprises of: storing about 2-5 grams of organic material in a temperature less than room temperature; adding a solvent Acetonitrile in the stored organic material to form a first mixture, wherein the first mixture is transferred to a 40-60 ml tubes, centrifuged and shaken for a defined interval; adding 0.5-3 ml of supernatant, 80-120 mg of cyclo-18-carbon (C18) and 200-400 mg of Magnesium sulfate to the first mixture to form a second mixture; and filtering the formed second mixture using a filter syringe to obtain a filtrate, wherein the mycotoxins are detected from the obtained filtrate using Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with a mass spectrometer.

A method for determining the degree of sensitivity of a strain of fungus to an antifungal agent by using the possible change in a chitin level in a population of cells of a strain of fungus to an antifungal agent. The change is determined compared to the chitin level of a population of cells of said strain of fungus in the absence of antifungal agent.

A microfluidic device for detection of an analyte in a fluid is described. The microfluidic device comprises a substrate having a first surface defining entrances to one or more chambers defined in the substrate, surfaces of the chambers defining a second surface of the substrate, the first surface being modified for selective targeting and capture of at least one analyte to operably effect a blocking of the entrance to at least one of the chambers, and wherein a response characteristic of the microfluidic device is operably varied by the blocking of the entrance to the at least one of the chambers, thereby providing an indication of the presence of the analyte within the fluid.

Disclosed is a method for detecting aflatoxin B1 based on fluorescent copper nanoparticles, belonging to the technical fields of analytical chemistry, materials science and nano biosensing. In the disclosure, β-CD@DNA-Cu NMs are prepared by using Y-shaped DNA as a template, ascorbic acid as a reducing agent and β-CD as a fluorescence stabilizing and enhancing agent. Then, a ratiometric fluorescent probe is constructed based on the β-CD@DNA-Cu NMs. Finally, the detection of AFB1 with high sensitivity, high selectivity and high accuracy is achieved by using the fluorescent probe. According to the method of the disclosure, in linear ranges of 0.03-10 ppb and 10-18 ppb, a ratio value of I.sub.433 nm/I.sub.650 nm and a concentration of AFB1 exhibit a good linear relationship respectively, and a limit of detection is 0.012 ppb (S/N=3). Metal ions Ca.sup.2+ may be replaced with Yb.sup.3+, Y.sup.3+, Er.sup.3+ and Pt.sup.2+, which are also suitable for increasing sensitivity of AFB1 in rice.

Biosensors are disclosed for detecting ligand binding at ectopic Olfactory Receptors. Methods of identifying novel ectopic Olfactory Receptors are also disclosed. Ligands for ectopic Olfactory Receptors are disclosed as well as methods for using these ligands to interact with ectopic Olfactory Receptors, including the use of such ligands in the treatment and/or mitigation of disease conditions.

An open-cell foam structure that is impregnated with a disinfectant and used to remove pathogens from air, water, and surfaces, and kill the pathogens

The present invention relates to a multi-screening method for the detection of a large number of mycotoxins and metabolites in broiler chickens and pigs, the method comprising collecting the blood of broiler chickens and pigs as a dried blood sample, preparing the dried blood sample for analysis and analyzing the prepared dried blood sample by a two-step liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry LC-MS/MS process. In a first LS-MS/MS step, for a given mobile phase for the LC process, the mass spectrometer operates in negative electro-spray ionization mode, and for another mobile phase for the LC process, the mass spectrometer operates in positive electro-spray ionization mode. Such method can advantageously be used for screening and assessing the exposure of pigs or broiler chickens to feed contaminated with mycotoxins. Also, such method can be used for assessing the impact of the addition of mycotoxin detoxifying agents to animal feed.

A metabonomics-based tobacco leaf mildewing identification method, which comprises: obtaining tobacco leaf samples of the same variety, and carrying out artificial mildewing on a certain amount of tobacco leaf samples to obtain mildewed tobacco leaves; measuring volatile and semi-volatile components in the tobacco leaves before and after the tobacco leaf samples are mildewed by adopting a solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method; performing data processing on the collected mass spectrum data to obtain the proportion content of different types of compounds in the mildewed sample and the normal sample, and further obtaining the change difference of the content of volatile compounds in the tobacco leaf sample before and after mildewing; and establishing a tobacco leaf mildewing identification model according to the discrimination variables. The accuracy and efficiency of tobacco mildew identification can be improved, the quality of tobacco shreds is improved.