Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME), caused by transmitted Ehrlichia canis infection, is a major disease in dogs with worldwide distribution. Herein, a nucleic acid assay was established for the identification of E. canis infection employing a fluorescently labeled conformationally constrained pyrrolidinyl PNA probe (Flu-acpcPNA) designed to sequence-specifically target the 16S rRNA gene. The sensing principle is based on the excellent quenching ability of graphene oxide (GO) of the free PNA probe, that was diminished upon binding to the DNA target. The addition of DNase I improved the performance of the detection system by eliminating the nonspecific quenching capability of long-chain dsDNA and thus enhancing the fluorescence signaling. The assay was coupled with a recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technique, which could be performed under isothermal conditions (37 °C) without DNA denaturation and purification steps. The established method is simple to set up and execute, proving a rapid, specific, and sensitive detection of 16S rRNA gene of E. canis with a limit of detection at least 11.1 pM. This technique shows good potential for the visual detection of double-stranded DNA targets without the need for PCR or complicated instruments, which shows great promise for practical usage in resource limited areas.

C2 symmetrical chiral amino alcohol ligands with a central thiophene moiety have shown to be effective in combination with CuCl2 in the asymmetric acylation of dl-hydrobenzoins. In contrast to previously developed chiral ligands, readily available acetyl chloride and acetic anhydride can be used as reagents in addition to the benzoyl chloride giving rise to the corresponding monoacylated products in up to 99 %ee (S = 532).