The present invention includes antigenic fusion proteins, nucleic acids encoding the fusion proteins and methods of making and using the same, wherein the fusion protein comprises three or more different influenza A ectodomains of Matrix Protein 2 (M2e); one or more stem regions of an influenza A hemagglutinin 2 (HA2) protein; and optionally an anthrax antigen, wherein the fusion protein is immunogenic across strains.

Use of at least one chromogenic and/or fluorogenic carboxylesterase and/or triacylglycerol-lipase substrate, to detect bacteria of the Bacillus cereus group in a sample capable of containing them.

In this application is described a method for rapidly and accurately identifying B. anthracis in a sample by simultaneously detecting the presence of cell wall antigen and capsule antigen in the same sample culture grown under capsule inducing conditions. Other uses and advantages of the method of the invention are described herein.

Targeted antimicrobials are described and related, compositions, methods and systems.

The invention provides methods of enriching and isolating novel microbial organisms, such as rhizobacteria, that promote the growth of plants by recreating the rhizosphere in a laboratory setting. The methods of the invention can be used to produce and characterize beneficial microbes grown at the root-soil interface and provide a technique for selectively enriching bacteria that live in close association with plants and foster the growth thereof.

A bacterial detection platform integrating the sensitive SERS technique and the advanced mapping technique. Bacterial cells on the SERS substrate are detected using the mapping technique. The identification is based on the fingerprint of the bacterial SERS spectra. The quantification of the cells is based on the mapping technique. For different applications, silver or gold nanoparticles can be integrated onto a filter membrane for concentration and detection of bacterial cells in water or silver dendrites can be used as the SERS substrate. The SERS substrates are also modified with capturers and fixed in a vessel to concentrate cells from complex liquid matrices.

Disclosed herein are compositions for assessing peptidoglycan biosynthesis in bacteria using modified dipeptides containing a bioorthogonal tag and applying novel post-labeling methods to label the bioorthogonal tag. The resultant, labeled peptidoglycan structures are amenable for identifying bacteria by microscopic visualization.

A process for determining the viability of a biological indicator includes exposing the biological indicator to a viability detection medium, the biological indicator including test microorganisms, the exposing the biological indicator to the viability detection medium producing a gaseous reaction product when one or more of the test microorganisms are viable. The presence or absence of the gaseous reaction product produced by the biological indicator combined with the viability detection medium is detected with a sensing device, the sensing device comprising a resistive sensor, wherein the presence of the gaseous reaction product indicates the presence of viable test microorganisms and the absence of the gaseous reaction product indicates the absence of viable test microorganisms. A sterilization detection device includes a container configured to contain the biological indicator, a viability detection medium, and the sensing device.

Described herein are cell-free in vitro systems, methods, and kits relating to the detection of binding agents in a fluid sample that disrupt host-microbe interaction, fusion, and/or penetration. The systems, methods, and kits described herein include host nanoparticles expressing a surface receptor recognized by a foreign ligand, and foreign nanoparticles expressing the foreign ligand, wherein preincubation of either the host or foreign nanoparticles with the fluid sample decreases binding/interaction between the host nanoparticles and the foreign nanoparticles when binding agents are present in the fluid sample.

The present invention provides an in-vitro method for detecting the presence of a target substance in a biological sample by magnetic resonance, the method comprising: a) providing a mixture comprising a biological sample and a plurality of magnetic nanoparticles, wherein the magnetic nanoparticles comprise a binding agent capable of binding the target substance when the target substance is present in the biological sample; and b) determining a T.sub.2 relaxation time corresponding to magnetic nanoparticles that are bound to the target substance (T.sub.2bound) in the sample; wherein T.sub.2bound differs from the T.sub.2 relaxation time corresponding to the magnetic nanoparticles that are not bound to the target substance (T.sub.2free), and wherein T.sub.2bound is determined without physically separating magnetic nanoparticles that are bound to the target substance from the magnetic nanoparticles that are not bound to the target substance.