- MeSH
- databáze faktografické MeSH
- internet * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- Ramanova spektroskopie * metody MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- dopisy MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Over decades, synthetic dyes have become increasingly dominated by azo dyes posing a significant environmental risk due to their toxicity. Microalgae-based systems may offer an alternative for treatment of azo dye effluents to conventional physical-chemical methods. Here, microalgae were tested to decolorize industrial azo dye wastewater (ADW). Chlorella sorokiniana showed the highest decolorization efficiency in a preliminary screening test. Subsequently, the optimization of the experimental design resulted in 70% decolorization in a photobioreactor. Tolerance of this strain was evidenced using multiple approaches (growth and chlorophyll content assays, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and antioxidant level measurements). Raman microspectroscopy was employed for the quantification of ADW-specific compounds accumulated by the microalgal biomass. Finally, RNA-seq revealed the transcriptome profile of C. sorokiniana exposed to ADW for 72 h. Activated DNA repair and primary metabolism provided sufficient energy for microalgal growth to overcome the adverse toxic conditions. Furthermore, several transporter genes, oxidoreductases-, and glycosyltransferases-encoding genes were upregulated to effectively sequestrate and detoxify the ADW. This work demonstrates the potential utilization of C. sorokiniana as a tolerant strain for industrial wastewater treatment, emphasizing the regulation of its molecular mechanisms to cope with unfavorable growth conditions.
- Klíčová slova
- Bioremediation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Microalgae, Pigment, RNA-seq, Raman micro-spectroscopy,
- MeSH
- azosloučeniny MeSH
- barvicí látky toxicita MeSH
- Chlorella * genetika MeSH
- dekolorizace vody * MeSH
- stanovení celkové genové exprese MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Názvy látek
- azosloučeniny MeSH
- barvicí látky MeSH
Efficient separation and sensitive identification of pathogenic bacterial strains is essential for a prosperous modern society, with direct applications in medical diagnostics, drug discovery, biodefense, and food safety. We developed a fast and reliable method for antibody-based selective immobilization of bacteria from suspension onto a gold-plated glass surface, followed by detection using strain-specific antibodies linked to gold nanoparticles decorated with a reporter molecule. The reporter molecules are subsequently detected by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Such a multi-functionalized nanoparticle is called a SERS-tag. The presented procedure uses widely accessible and cheap materials for manufacturing and functionalization of the nanoparticles and the immobilization surfaces. Here, we exemplify the use of the produced SERS-tags for sensitive single-cell detection of opportunistic pathogen Escherichia coli, and we demonstrate the selectivity of our method using two other bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Serratia marcescens, as negative controls. We believe that the described approach has a potential to inspire the development of novel medical diagnostic tools for rapid identification of bacterial pathogens.
- Klíčová slova
- Escherichia coli, SERS-tag, sandwich immunoassay, single-cell detection,
- MeSH
- Escherichia coli MeSH
- kovové nanočástice * chemie MeSH
- protilátky chemie MeSH
- Ramanova spektroskopie * metody MeSH
- Staphylococcus aureus MeSH
- zlato chemie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Názvy látek
- protilátky MeSH
- zlato MeSH
Liquid crystal microdroplets with readily adjustable optical properties have attracted considerable attention for building reconfigurable optofluidic microsystems for sensing, imaging, and light routing applications. In this quest, development of active optical microcavities serving as versatile integrated sources of coherent light and ultra-sensitive environmental sensors has played a prominent role. Here, we study transportable optofluidic microlasers reversibly tunable by an external electric field, which are based on fluorophore-doped emulsion droplets of radial nematic liquid crystals manipulated by optical tweezers in microfluidic chips with embedded liquid electrodes. Full transparency of the electrodes formed by a concentrated electrolyte solution allows for applying an electric field to the optically trapped droplets without undesired heating caused by light absorption. Taking advantage of independent, precise control over the electric and thermal stimulation of the lasing liquid crystal droplets, we characterize their spectral tuning response at various optical trapping powers and study their relaxation upon a sudden decrease in the trapping power. Finally, we demonstrate that sufficiently strong applied electric fields can induce fully reversible phase transitions in the trapped droplets even below the bulk melting temperature of the used liquid crystal. Our observations indicate viability of creating electrically tunable, optically transported microlasers that can be prepared on-demand and operated within microfluidic chips to implement integrated microphotonic or sensing systems.
- Klíčová slova
- liquid crystals, microfluidics, optical trapping, optofluidic laser, tunable optofluidic microcavity, whispering gallery modes,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Selenium (Se) is an element with many commercial applications as well as an essential micronutrient. Dietary Se has antioxidant properties and it is known to play a role in cancer prevention. However, the general population often suffers from Se deficiency. Green algae, such as Chlorella vulgaris, cultivated in Se-enriched environment may be used as a food supplement to provide adequate levels of Se. We used Raman microspectroscopy (RS) for fast, reliable, and non-destructive measurement of Se concentration in living algal cells. We employed inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry as a reference method to RS and we found a substantial correlation between the Raman signal intensity at 252 cm-1 and total Se concentration in the studied cells. We used RS to assess the uptake of Se by living and inactivated algae and demonstrated the necessity of active cellular transport for Se accumulation. Additionally, we observed the intracellular Se being transformed into an insoluble elemental form, which we further supported by the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy imaging.
- Klíčová slova
- Chlorella vulgaris, EDX, ICP-MS, Raman spectroscopy, algae, bioaccumulation, selenium,
- MeSH
- bioakumulace MeSH
- chemické látky znečišťující vodu analýza metabolismus MeSH
- Chlorella vulgaris chemie metabolismus MeSH
- Ramanova spektroskopie * MeSH
- selen analýza metabolismus MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Názvy látek
- chemické látky znečišťující vodu MeSH
- selen MeSH
Bacteriophages, or "phages" for short, are viruses that replicate in bacteria. The therapeutic and biotechnological potential of phages and their lytic enzymes is of interest for their ability to selectively destroy pathogenic bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant strains. Introduction of phage preparations into medicine, biotechnology, and food industry requires a thorough characterization of phage-host interaction on a molecular level. We employed Raman tweezers to analyze the phage-host interaction of Staphylococcus aureus strain FS159 with a virulent phage JK2 (=812K1/420) of the Myoviridae family and a temperate phage 80α of the Siphoviridae family. We analyzed the timeline of phage-induced molecular changes in infected host cells. We reliably detected the presence of replicating phages in bacterial cells within 5 min after infection. Our results lay the foundations for building a Raman-based diagnostic instrument capable of real-time, in vivo, in situ, nondestructive characterization of the phage-host relationship on the level of individual cells, which has the potential of importantly contributing to the development of phage therapy and enzybiotics.
Functional annotation of novel proteins lags behind the number of sequences discovered by the next-generation sequencing. The throughput of conventional testing methods is far too low compared to sequencing; thus, experimental alternatives are needed. Microfluidics offer high throughput and reduced sample consumption as a tool to keep up with a sequence-based exploration of protein diversity. The most promising droplet-based systems have a significant limitation: leakage of hydrophobic compounds from water compartments to the carrier prevents their use with hydrophilic reagents. Here, we present a novel approach of substrate delivery into microfluidic droplets and apply it to high-throughput functional characterization of enzymes that convert hydrophobic substrates. Substrate delivery is based on the partitioning of hydrophobic chemicals between the oil and water phases. We applied a controlled distribution of 27 hydrophobic haloalkanes from oil to reaction water droplets to perform substrate specificity screening of eight model enzymes from the haloalkane dehalogenase family. This droplet-on-demand microfluidic system reduces the reaction volume 65 000-times and increases the analysis speed almost 100-fold compared to the classical test tube assay. Additionally, the microfluidic setup enables a convenient analysis of dependences of activity on the temperature in a range of 5 to 90 °C for a set of mesophilic and hyperstable enzyme variants. A high correlation between the microfluidic and test tube data supports the approach robustness. The precision is coupled to a considerable throughput of >20 000 reactions per day and will be especially useful for extending the scope of microfluidic applications for high-throughput analysis of reactions including compounds with limited water solubility.
- MeSH
- analýza hlavních komponent MeSH
- hydrofobní a hydrofilní interakce MeSH
- hydrolasy metabolismus MeSH
- mikrofluidika metody MeSH
- oleje chemie MeSH
- rozpustnost MeSH
- substrátová specifita MeSH
- teplota MeSH
- voda chemie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Názvy látek
- haloalkane dehalogenase MeSH Prohlížeč
- hydrolasy MeSH
- oleje MeSH
- voda MeSH
The biofilm-forming microbial species Candida parapsilosis and Staphylococcus epidermidis have been recently linked to serious infections associated with implanted medical devices. We studied microbial biofilms by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which allowed us to visualize the biofilm structure, including the distribution of cells inside the extracellular matrix and the areas of surface adhesion. We compared classical SEM (chemically fixed samples) with cryogenic SEM, which employs physical sample preparation based on plunging the sample into various liquid cryogens, as well as high-pressure freezing (HPF). For imaging the biofilm interior, we applied the freeze-fracture technique. In this study, we show that the different means of sample preparation have a fundamental influence on the observed biofilm structure. We complemented the SEM observations with Raman spectroscopic analysis, which allowed us to assess the time-dependent chemical composition changes of the biofilm in vivo. We identified the individual spectral peaks of the biomolecules present in the biofilm and we employed principal component analysis (PCA) to follow the temporal development of the chemical composition.
- Klíčová slova
- Raman spectroscopy, biofilm, cryo-SEM, sample preparation, scanning electron microscopy,
- MeSH
- bakteriální infekce diagnóza mikrobiologie MeSH
- biofilmy růst a vývoj MeSH
- Candida parapsilosis izolace a purifikace patogenita ultrastruktura MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikroskopie elektronová rastrovací MeSH
- Ramanova spektroskopie MeSH
- Staphylococcus epidermidis izolace a purifikace patogenita ultrastruktura MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Optofluidics, a research discipline combining optics with microfluidics, currently aspires to revolutionize the analysis of biological and chemical samples, e.g., for medicine, pharmacology, or molecular biology. In order to detect low concentrations of analytes in water, we have developed an optofluidic device containing a nanostructured substrate for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The geometry of the gold surface allows localized plasmon oscillations to give rise to the SERS effect, in which the Raman spectral lines are intensified by the interaction of the plasmonic field with the electrons in the molecular bonds. The SERS substrate was enclosed in a microfluidic system, which allowed transport and precise mixing of the analyzed fluids, while preventing contamination or abrasion of the highly sensitive substrate. To illustrate its practical use, we employed the device for quantitative detection of persistent environmental pollutant 1,2,3-trichloropropane in water in submillimolar concentrations. The developed sensor allows fast and simple quantification of halogenated compounds and it will contribute towards the environmental monitoring and enzymology experiments with engineered haloalkane dehalogenase enzymes.
- Klíčová slova
- 1,2,3-trichloropropane, Klarite 312, chloroalkane, microfluidics, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
Analyzing the cells in various body fluids can greatly deepen the understanding of the mechanisms governing the cellular physiology. Due to the variability of physiological and metabolic states, it is important to be able to perform such studies on individual cells. Therefore, we developed an optofluidic system in which we precisely manipulated and monitored individual cells of Escherichia coli. We tested optical micromanipulation in a microfluidic chamber chip by transferring individual bacteria into the chambers. We then subjected the cells in the chambers to antibiotic cefotaxime and we observed the changes by using time-lapse microscopy. Separately, we used laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy (LTRS) in a different micro-chamber chip to manipulate and analyze individual cefotaxime-treated E. coli cells. Additionally, we performed conventional Raman micro-spectroscopic measurements of E. coli cells in a micro-chamber. We found observable changes in the cellular morphology (cell elongation) and in Raman spectra, which were consistent with other recently published observations. The principal component analysis (PCA) of Raman data distinguished between the cefotaxime treated cells and control. We tested the capabilities of the optofluidic system and found it to be a reliable and versatile solution for this class of microbiological experiments.
- Klíčová slova
- E. coli, Raman micro-spectroscopy, antibiotics, optical tweezers, opto-fluidics,
- MeSH
- analýza hlavních komponent MeSH
- antibakteriální látky škodlivé účinky MeSH
- Escherichia coli účinky léků růst a vývoj MeSH
- laboratoř na čipu * MeSH
- mikromanipulace metody MeSH
- optická pinzeta * MeSH
- Ramanova spektroskopie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Názvy látek
- antibakteriální látky MeSH
