Background Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram-negative bacterium widely distributed in marine environments and a well-recognized invertebrate pathogen frequently isolated from seafood. V. parahaemolyticus may also spread into humans, via contaminated, raw, or undercooked seafood, causing gastroenteritis and diarrhea. Methods A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)-based detection system was used to detect pathogenic levels of this microorganism (10 5 CFU/ml) with Molecular Mirroring using iron nanoparticles coated with target-specific biomarkers capable of binding to DNA of the target microorganism. The NMR system generates a signal (in milliseconds) by measuring NMR spin–spin relaxation time T 2 , which correlates with the amount of microorganism DNA. Results Compared with conventional microbiology techniques such as real-time PCR (qPCR), the NMR biosensor showed similar limits of detection (LOD) at different concentrations (10 5 –10 8 CFU/ml) using two DNA extraction methods. In addition, the NMR biosensor system can detect a wide range of microorganism DNAs in different matrices within a short period of time. Conclusion NMR biosensor represents a potential tool for diagnostic and quality control to ensure microbial pathogens such as V. parahaemolyticus are not the cause of infection. The “hybrid” technology (NMR and nanoparticle application) opens a new platform for detecting other microbial pathogens that have impacted human health, animal health and food safety.

We evaluated the performance of an early prototype core molecular mirroring nuclear magnetic resonance detection platform (Mentor-100) to detect toxigenic Clostridium difficile from stool. This technology uses customized nanoparticles bound to target specific oligonucleotide probes that form binaries in the presence of nucleic acid from the target microorganism. Liquid patient stool specimens were seeded with C. difficile or other Clostridium species to determine the analytical sensitivity and specificity. Samples underwent nucleic acid extraction and target amplification with probes conjugated with iron nanoparticles. Signal from nuclear magnetic resonance spin-spin relaxation time was measured to detect the presence or absence of toxigenic C. difficile. The limit of detection was <180 colony forming units per reaction of toxigenic C. difficile. No cross-reactivity was observed with nontoxigenic C. difficile, Clostridium sordellii, Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus subtilis, or Paenibacillus polymyxa at 10 colony forming units/mL. Correlation studies using frozen stool samples yielded a sensitivity of 88.4% (61 of 69) and a specificity of 87.0% (40 of 46) as compared with a commercial PCR assay for C. difficile. The area under the curve in the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was 0.922. The prototype molecular mirroring platform showed promising performance for pathogen detection from clinical specimens. The platform design has the potential to offer a novel, low-cost alternative to currently available nucleic acid-based tests.

CelTherm is a biochemical process to produce renewable fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. The present study's objective was to determine the level of treatment/purity of the microbial triacylglyceride oil (TAG) necessary to facilitate fuel production. After a unique microbe aerobically synthesizes TAG from biomass-derived sugars, the microbes were harvested and dried then crude TAG was chemically extracted from the residual biomass. Some TAGs were further purified to hydrotreating process requirements. Both grades were then noncatalytically cracked into a petroleum-like intermediate characterized by gas chromatography. Experiments were repeated using refined soybean oil for comparison to previous studies. The products from crude microbial TAG cracking were then further refined into a jet fuel product. Fuel tests indicate that this jet fuel corresponds to specifications for JP-8 military turbine fuel. It was thus concluded that the crude microbial TAG is a suitable feedstock with no further purification required, demonstrating CelTherm's commercial potential.

The globalization of the world's food trade calls for rapid and accurate detection of foodborne pathogens to ensure safety of foods for human consumption, to prevent outbreaks and management of foodborne infectious diseases. Currently, commercial detection methods for pathogenic microbials require multiple days for sample‐to‐answer results. In this study, we demonstrated a highly sensitive and rapid detection of a microbial pathogen using Molecular Mirroring (M2) technology and Lab‐in‐the‐Box system based on nuclear magnetic resonance that works rapidly and efficiently for the detection of Salmonella. This technology detected Salmonella at 1 cfu/reaction in water. In tuna, the M2 technology detected 1 cfu/g with 5 hr of enrichment and analysis with a T2 signal of 342 ms. In addition to sensitive detection and minimal enrichment, this methodology detected pathogens from inhibitory mediums. Therefore, this technology can be widely applied to other fields such as environmental monitoring, public health and safety, national security, and medical diagnosis.Practical applicationsThe combination of molecular biology and nuclear magnetic resonance technology represents a novel, rapid, sensitive, and highly specific methodology for the detection of Salmonella spp. in tuna compared to standard conventional methods. Practical applications of the M2 technology have been tested with human samples, animal samples, and food samples to detect microbial pathogens before and after food processing, thus is ideal to protect public health and to ensure food safety. Furthermore, this biosensor analytical technology can be applied to almost any medium or target of interest in the field of food safety, clinical diagnostics, and biosurveillance.

Accurate diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infections have been critical for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both high-sensitivity/specificity PCR-based tests and lower-sensitivity/specificity rapid antigen assays have been the subject of worldwide supply chain limitations as individual facilities and countries have struggled to meet their population testing needs.