Reliable Serological Testing for the Diagnosis of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Climate change, increased urbanization and international travel have facilitated the spread of mosquito vectors and the viral species they carry. Zika virus (ZIKV) is currently spreading in the Americas, while dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) have already become firmly established in most tropical and also many non-tropical regions. ZIKV, DENV and CHIKV overlap in their endemic areas and cause similar clinical symptoms, especially in the initial stages of infection. Infections with each of these viruses can lead to severe complications, and co-infections have been reported. Therefore, laboratory analyses play an important role in differential diagnostics. A timely and accurate diagnosis is crucial for patient management, prevention of unnecessary therapies, rapid adoption of vector control measures, and collection of epidemiological data.There are two pillars to diagnosis: direct pathogen detection and the determination of specific antibodies. Serological tests provide a longer diagnostic window than direct methods, and are suitable for diagnosing acute and past infections, for disease surveillance and for vaccination monitoring. ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence test (IIFT) systems based on optimized antigens enable sensitive and specific detection of antibodies against ZIKV, DENV and CHIKV in patient serum or plasma. In recent years, Euroimmun (Lübeck, Germany) has developed numerous test systems for the serological diagnosis of (re-)emerging diseases, including a very sensitive and specific anti-ZIKV ELISA.

Complementary surface-enhanced resonance Raman spectroscopic biodetection of mixed protein solutions by chitosan- and silica-coated plasmon-tuned silver nanoparticles.

Silver nanoparticles with identical plasmonic properties but different surface functionalities are synthesized and tested as chemically selective surface-enhanced resonance Raman (SERR) amplifiers in a two-component protein solution. The surface plasmon resonances of the particles are tuned to 413 nm to match the molecular resonance of protein heme cofactors. Biocompatible functionalization of the nanoparticles with a thin film of chitosan yields selective SERR enhancement of the anionic protein cytochrome b(5), whereas functionalization with SiO(2) amplifies only the spectra of the cationic protein cytochrome c. As a result, subsequent addition of the two differently functionalized particles yields complementary information on the same mixed protein sample solution. Finally, the applicability of chitosan-coated Ag nanoparticles for protein separation was tested by in situ resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Protein engineering of α/ß-hydrolase fold enzymes.

The superfamily of α/ß-hydrolase fold enzymes is one of the largest known protein families, including a broad range of synthetically useful enzymes such as lipases, esterases, amidases, hydroxynitrile lyases, epoxide hydrolases and dehalogenases. This minireview covers methods developed for efficient protein engineering of these enzymes. Special emphasis is placed on the alteration of enzyme properties such as substrate range, thermostability and enantioselectivity for their application in biocatalysis. In addition, concepts for the investigation of the evolutionary relationship between the different members of this protein superfamily are covered, together with successful examples.

Converting an esterase into an epoxide hydrolase.

Entering the fold: A common structural motif in hydrolytic enzymes is the alpha,beta-hydrolase fold. The interconversion of one enzyme into another by introduction of mechanistically important residues is not enough; only substitution of a loop allows epoxide hydrolase activity in the esterase scaffold to be formed (see picture; structure comparison of epoxide hydrolases (green) with the esterase (orange)). The result is an enantioselective chimeric enzyme.

Electrical Wiring of the Aldehyde Oxidoreductase PaoABC with a Polymer Containing Osmium Redox Centers: Biosensors for Benzaldehyde and GABA.

Biosensors for the detection of benzaldehyde and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are reported using aldehyde oxidoreductase PaoABC from Escherichia coli immobilized in a polymer containing bound low potential osmium redox complexes. The electrically connected enzyme already electrooxidizes benzaldehyde at potentials below -0.15 V (vs. Ag|AgCl, 1 M KCl). The pH-dependence of benzaldehyde oxidation can be strongly influenced by the ionic strength. The effect is similar with the soluble osmium redox complex and therefore indicates a clear electrostatic effect on the bioelectrocatalytic efficiency of PaoABC in the osmium containing redox polymer. At lower ionic strength, the pH-optimum is high and can be switched to low pH-values at high ionic strength. This offers biosensing at high and low pH-values. A "reagentless" biosensor has been formed with enzyme wired onto a screen-printed electrode in a flow cell device. The response time to addition of benzaldehyde is 30 s, and the measuring range is between 10-150 µM and the detection limit of 5 µM (signal to noise ratio 3:1) of benzaldehyde. The relative standard deviation in a series (n = 13) for 200 µM benzaldehyde is 1.9%. For the biosensor, a response to succinic semialdehyde was also identified. Based on this response and the ability to work at high pH a biosensor for GABA is proposed by coimmobilizing GABA-aminotransferase (GABA-T) and PaoABC in the osmium containing redox polymer.

Human sulfite oxidase electrochemistry on gold nanoparticles modified electrode.

The present study reports a facile approach for sulfite biosensing, based on enhanced direct electron transfer of a human sulfite oxidase (hSO) immobilized on a gold nanoparticles modified electrode. The spherical core shell AuNPs were prepared via a new method by reduction of HAuCl(4) with branched poly(ethyleneimine) in an ionic liquids resulting particles with a diameter less than 10nm. These nanoparticles were covalently attached to a mercaptoundecanoic acid modified Au-electrode where then hSO was adsorbed and an enhanced interfacial electron transfer and electrocatalysis was achieved. UV/Vis and resonance Raman spectroscopy, in combination with direct protein voltammetry, are employed for the characterization of the system and reveal no perturbation of the structural integrity of the redox protein. The proposed biosensor exhibited a quick steady-state current response, within 2 s, a linear detection range between 0.5 and 5.4 µM with a high sensitivity (1.85 nA µM(-1)). The investigated system provides remarkable advantages in the possibility to work at low applied potential and at very high ionic strength. Therefore these properties could make the proposed system useful in the development of bioelectronic devices and its application in real samples.