A method of preparing an aesculin sturgeon skin gelatin with antioxidant activity and Enterococcus faecalis detection ability includes: 1) mixing a sturgeon skin gelatin and distilled water in a ratio of 1:15-1:25 (w/v) at 50-70 C. and filtering to obtain a sturgeon skin gelatin solution; 2) adding aesculin and a glycerin solution to the sturgeon skin gelatin solution, stirring the resulted sturgeon skin gelatin solution at 30-50 C. for 30 minutes, and filtering; and 3) removing air bubbles from the sturgeon skin gelatin solution of step 2) under reduced pressure, placing the sturgeon skin gelatin solution on an acrylic glass, and drying the sturgeon skin gelatin solution at in a vented oven 25 C. and 45-55% relative humidity for 24 hours to obtain the aesculin sturgeon skin gelatin film.

Methods for detecting and quantifying one or more microcystin compounds in a sample are described. The methods may include a preconcentration step, and generally utilize an LC-MS or LC-MS/MS analysis with an Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer or a QqQ mass spectrometer. The methods provide excellent recoveries and limits of quantification of microcystins.

Diagnostic devices test markers for viral infection and markers for bacterial infection to effectively assist in the rapid differentiation of viral and bacterial infections, to differentiate between colonization and active infection, and to better diagnose microbiologically unconfirmed patients. In other embodiments, detecting a presence of MxA in combination with either the bacterial biomarker C-reactive protein or the bacterial biomarker procalcitonin increases the specificity of the bacterial biomarker with a concurrent improvement in sensitivity.

The present invention relates to means and methods for detecting cyanobacterial cyclic peptide hepatotoxins (CCPH) in aqueous samples. More specifically, the invention provides recombinant anti-immunocomplex (anti-IC) antibodies which bind to immunocomplexes formed between one or more CCPH variants and an anti-CCPH primary antibody, and immunoassays, preferably non-competitive immunoassays, employing the same.

The present disclosure provides antibodies that specifically bind to botulinum neurotoxins (e.g., BoNT/A, BoNT/B, BoNT/C, BoNT/D, BoNT/E, BoNT/F, BoNT/G, etc.) and the epitopes bound by those antibodies. The antibodies and derivatives thereof that specifically bind to the neutralizing epitopes provided herein can be used to neutralize botulinum neurotoxin and are therefore also useful in the treatment of botulism.

Disclosed are compounds, compositions, and methods relating to epitope-targeted immunostimulants (EPIs), which comprise a synthetic peptide ligand and an antibody-recruiting moiety. The peptide ligand binds an epitope on a target and the antibody-recruiting moiety recruits antibodies to the target when the EPI is bound to the epitope on the target. Also disclosed are compositions comprising any of the disclosed EPIs. Also disclosed are methods of stimulating an immune reaction to a microorganism or other pathogen in a subject where an EPI is administered to the subject. Also disclosed are methods of identifying the peptide ligand by using multi-omic analysis.

Two Borrelia burgdorferi recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli. These two proteins were generated from (a) the full length dbpA gene combined with the invariable region 6 of the VlsE gene (dbpA/C6), and (b) the full length OspC gene combined with the coding sequence for amino acids 1-121 of the E. coli maltose binding protein gene (OspC/MBP). Methods of using these recombinant proteins for detecting anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in patient sera and diagnosis of Lyme Disease are described.

Platform technology involving aqueous microdroplet reaction vessels created, arrayed, and characterized by imaging microscopy in a microfluidic device are applied to a wide variety of bioassays involving the detection and phenotypic characterization of single cells. The bioassays include the rapid and automated detection of microbial pathogens and their antibiotic sensitivity from patient samples as well as the characterization of immune responses using a patient's own cells, including the killing of tumor cells.

Provided herein are microorganisms engineered with hybrid receptors and genetic circuits. Also provided are hybrid receptors having a CqsS polypeptide and a heterologous histidine kinase domain of a two-component system. Methods for using engineered microorganisms to sense and destroy pathogens (e.g., Vibrio cholerae) are also provided.

The present invention provides sensor cells comprising a receptor that binds to an analyte indicative of the presence of an agent, where binding of the analyte to the receptor triggers a detection event that is indicative of the presence of the agent. In certain embodiments, the detection event is appearance of a reporter detectable by the naked eye. The present invention also provides uses of such sensor cells for detecting the presence of an agent in a sample.