New test for germs: Fluorescing DNAzymes detect metabolic products from bacteria
Thursday, April 7, 2011 - 05:00
in Health & Medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- Germs in food, bioterrorism, drug-resistant bacteria and virusesthese are the problems of our time that make early detection of pathogens particularly important. Whereas conventional methods are either slow or require complex instruments, Yingfu Li and a team at McMaster University in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada), additionally supported by the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network, have now developed an especially simple, universal fluorescence test system that specifically and rapidly detects germs by means of their metabolic products. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, It isnt even necessary to know which substance the test is reacting to.
