Microcystin Lr [BSA]

Applications: Surface acoustic waves (SAW) sensor

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Reactive species: Unspecified reactive species

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"Abstract: Cyanobacteria are a family of prokaryotic bacteria whose death causes the release of harmful toxins. Upon ingestion, these toxins produce symptoms similar to food poisoning and are dangerous to humans, as well as livestock. As there is no easily accessible way to remove cyanotoxins from water sources, thus detection before consumption is vitally important. In this article, we report a shear horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) based sensor for the active detection of the microcystin congener, microcystin-LR (MC-LR). The sensing platform was devised on 36° YX cut-LiTaO3 which is a piezoelectric substrate. The sensor system was designed based on delay line configuration and was actively coated with silicon dioxide as a waveguide layer for better mass-load sensitivity. Unlike conventional SAW, the sensing platform utilizes a 5-count tone burst signal, enhancing sensitivity due to its sensitive coda waves. Signal transformation and analysis were made for distinct detection in the frequency domain. The sensor also incorporates the functionalization of gold nanospheres for a high surface-to-volume ratio and enhanced degree of orientation leading to better sensitivity. The sensor detection limit was down to 5.13 nM. Further evidence was provided by selectivity analysis and the sensor could identify MC-LR from the other biomarkers."

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Article snippet: Microcystin-LR antigens in BSA and anti-Microcystin LR monoclonal antibodies were purchased from Creative Diagnostics, NY, USA.

Applications: ELISA

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Reactive species: Unspecified reactive species

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"Abstract: Water is essential for human life, and access to clean water is considered a basic human right by the United Nations. Around the world, a high proportion of the population still does not have access to safe fresh water, with a high impact on health. This situation perpetuates a cycle of poverty, hindering economic development and exacerbating inequality. The water is considered unsafe to drink if it is contaminated. The contamination can be categorized into three types: physical, chemical, and biological. Biological contamination arises from the presence of living organisms in water, such as bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and parasites. Recently, the scientific community has raised the alarm on contamination caused by a large group of bacteria known as Cyanobacteria, which can release harmful toxins in water, including mycotoxins like Microcystin-LR (MC-LR). In this context, we present the application of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to develop a competitive assay for detecting the presence of traces of the MC-LR toxin in fresh water."

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Article snippet: Bovine serum albumin microcystin-LR (MC-LR BSA) conjugate (ref. # DAGHY010) was purchased from Creative Diagnostics (Creative Diagnostics, Shirley, NY, USA), while CF488 fluorescent dye was purchased from * (*).