An insight to the recent advancements in detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using biosensors: A systematic review.

Since ancient times, Tuberculosis (TB) has been a severe invasive illness that has been prevalent for thousands of years and is also known as "consumption" or phthisis. TB is the most common chronic lung bacterial illness in the world, killing over 2 million people each year, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). As per the reports of WHO, in spite of technology advancements, the average rate of decline in global TB infections from 2000-2018 was only 1.6% per year, and the worldwide reduction in TB deaths was only 11%. In addition, COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of global progress in tackling TB with fewer diagnosed cases. The majority of undiagnosed patients of TB are found in low- and middle-income countries where the GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay and sputum smear microscopy have been approved by the WHO as reference procedures for quickly detecting TB. Biosensors, like other cutting-edge technologies, have piqued researchers' interest since they offer a quick and accurate way to identify MTB. Modern integrated technologies allow for the rapid, low-cost, and highly precise detection of analytes in extremely little amounts of sample by biosensors. Here in this review, we outlined the severity of tuberculosis (TB) and the most recent developments in the biosensors sector, as well as their various kinds and benefits for TB detection. The review also emphasizes how widespread TB is and how it needs accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

Reduced Graphene Oxide-Polydopamine-Gold Nanoparticles: A Ternary Nanocomposite-Based Electrochemical Genosensor for Rapid and Early Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection.

Tuberculosis (TB) has been a devastating human illness for thousands of years. According to the WHO, around 10.4 million new cases of tuberculosis are identified every year, with 1.8 million deaths. To reduce these statistics and the mortality rate, an early and accurate TB diagnosis is essential. This study offers a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical biosensor for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) detection based on a ternary nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide, polydopamine, and gold nanoparticles (rGO-PDA-AuNP). Avidin-biotin coupling was used to bind the MTB probe DNA onto the rGO-PDA-AuNP modified glassy carbon electrode (ssDNA/avidin/rGO-PDA-AuNP). UV-Visible, Raman, XRD, and TEM were used to evaluate the structural and morphological characteristics of rGO-PDA-AuNP. Furthermore, DNA immobilization is validated using FESEM and FT-IR techniques. The modified electrodes were electrochemically analyzed using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and the results indicate that the produced electrode can detect target DNA up to 0.1 × 10-7 mM with 2.12 × 10-3 mA µM-1 sensitivity and a response time of 5 s. The constructed genosensor displayed high sensitivity and stability, and it also provides a unique strategy for diagnosing MTB at an early stage. Furthermore, our rGO-PDA-AuNP/GCE-based electrochemical platform has broad potential for creating biosensor systems for detecting various infectious pathogens and therapeutically significant biomarkers.

Bio-inspired polynorepinephrine based nanocoatings for reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticles composite for high-performance biosensing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Polydopamine (PDA) has established itself as a promising grafting and coating material, particularly for functional group-deprived electrochemically active nanomaterials such as graphene, MXene, CNT, metal nanoparticles, and so on, and has proven its extensive applicability in the design and development of electrochemical biosensor devices. However, polynorepinephrine (PNE), a sister compound of PDA, having additional -OH groups and greater coating uniformity and biocompatibility, has never been studied in the field of biosensors. Herein, we investigated PNE as a coating material for reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and gold nanoparticles (Au) in order to build an electrochemical genosensor for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) detection. Biotin-Avidin chemistry was used to covalently immobilize probe DNA (ssDNA) specific to MTB to the nanocomposite surface on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in order to construct biosensing electrodes. The formation of RGO/PNE and RGO/PNE/Au nanocomposite as well as the immobilization of ssDNA onto the bioelectrodes are both corroborated by UV-Visible, Raman, and XRD studies with FE-SEM and HR-TEM analysis. The electrochemical studies performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) showed the significant enhancement in charge transfer kinetics of RGO/PNE/GCE and RGO/PNE/Au/GCE electrode compared to GO/GCE electrode. The biosensing investigations performed using ssDNA/avidin/RGO/PNE/Au/GCE bioelectrode showed high sensitivity (2.3 × 10-3 mA µM-1), low detection limit (0.1 × 10-7 µM), broad detection range (0.1 × 10-2 to 0.1 × 10-7 µM) with good selectivity and low response time (5 s) of the developed sensor. In comparison to the analogous RGO/PDA/Au material system, RGO/PNE/Au demonstrated increased enzyme loading, improved electrochemical responsiveness, and superior biosensing performance.

Ternary nanocomposite-based smart sensor: Reduced graphene oxide/polydopamine/alanine nanocomposite for simultaneous electrochemical detection of Cd2+, Pb2+, Fe2+, and Cu2+ ions.

Heavy metal ion (HMI) sensors are the most sought commercial devices for environmental monitoring and food analysis research due to serious health concerns associated with HMI overdosage. Herein, we developed an effective electrochemical sensor for simultaneous detection of four HMI (Cd2+, Pb2+, Fe2+, and Cu2+) using a ternary nanocomposite of reduced graphene oxide functionalized with polydopamine and alanine (ALA/pDA/rGO). Comprehensive spectroscopic and microscopic characterizations were performed to ensure the formation of the ternary nanocomposite. The developed nanocomposite on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) yields >2-fold higher current than GO/GCE electrode with excellent electrochemical stability and charge transfer rate. Using DPV, various chemical and electrochemical parameters, such as supporting electrolyte, buffer pH, metal deposition time, and potential, were optimized to achieve highly sensitive detection of targeted HMI. For Cd2+, Pb2+, Fe2+, and Cu2+ sensing devised sensor exhibited detection limits of 1.46, 2.86, 50.23, and 17.95 ppb and sensitivity of 0.0929, 0.0744, 0.0051, and 0.0394 µA/ppb, respectively, with <6% interference. The sensor worked similarly well for real water samples with HMI. This study demonstrates a novel strategy for concurrently detecting and quantifying multiple HMI in water and soil using a smart ternary nanocomposite-based electrochemical sensor, which can also detect HMI in food samples.

Recent advances in copper and copper-derived materials for antimicrobial resistance and infection control.

Antibacterial properties of copper have been known for ages. With the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), hospital-acquired infections, and the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, copper and copper-derived materials are being widely researched for healthcare ranging from therapeutics to advanced wound dressing to medical devices. We cover current research that highlights the potential uses of metallic and ionic copper, copper alloys, copper nanostructures, and copper composites as antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents, including those against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The applications of copper-enabled engineered materials in medical devices, wound dressings, personal protective equipment, and self-cleaning surfaces are discussed. We emphasize the potential of copper and copper-derived materials in combating AMR and efficiently reducing infections in clinical settings.

2D Materials-Based Aptamer Biosensors: Present Status and Way Forward.

Current advances in constructing functional nanomaterials and elegantly designed nanostructures have opened up new possibilities for the fabrication of viable field biosensors. Two-dimensional materials (2DMs) have fascinated much attention due to their chemical, optical, physicochemical, and electronic properties. They are ultrathin nanomaterials with unique properties such as high surface-to-volume ratio, surface charge, shape, high anisotropy, and adjustable chemical functionality. 2DMs such as graphene-based 2D materials, Silicate clays, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), MXenes, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and transition metal oxides (TMOs) offer intensified physicochemical and biological functionality and have proven to be very promising candidates for biological applications and technologies. 2DMs have a multivalent structure that can easily bind to single-stranded DNA/RNA (aptamers) through covalent, non-covalent, hydrogen bond, and π-stacking interactions, whereas aptamers have a small size, excellent chemical stability, and low immunogenicity with high affinity and specificity. This review discussed the potential of various 2D material-based aptasensor for diagnostic applications, e.g., protein detection, environmental monitoring, pathogens detection, etc.

Lightweight carbon-red mud hybrid foam toward fire-resistant and efficient shield against electromagnetic interference.

Lightweight, porous, high-performance electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and fire-resistant materials are highly demanded in aerospace and defense applications. Due to the lightweight, open porosity and high surface area, carbon foam has been considered as one of the most promising candidates for EMI shielding applications. In the present investigation, we demonstrate the development of novel carbon-red mud hybrid foams with excellent EMI shielding effectiveness (SE). The carbon-red mud hybrid foams are prepared using phenolic resin as a carbon source and red mud (industrial waste) as filler. We observed that the inclusion of red mud in carbon-red mud hybrid foams significantly enhances their dielectric, magnetic, EMI shielding and thermal properties. The EMI shielding results show that absorption is the main contributor to the total EMI SE. The maximum total EMI shielding effectiveness is achieved to be 51.4 dB in the frequency range of 8.2-12.4 GHz for carbon-red mud hybrid foam having 20 wt. % of red mud. The CF-RM20 also showed excellent fire resistance and high thermal stability at elevated temperatures.

Effect of Al addition and space holder content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti2Co alloys foams for bone scaffold application.

Ti2Co alloy (with and without Al) foam of varying densities were prepared through space holder technique, in which space holder varied from 40 to 70 vol% and Al-concentration varied from 0 to 6 wt% with an enhancement of 2 wt%. The prepared foam samples were analysed in terms of microstructure, phase analysis and mechanical properties. The sizes of pores in the foams come to be almost similar to that of space holder. An increase in the amount of Al resulted in enhancement of the mechanical properties such as comprehensive strength, plateau stress, energy absorption capacity, hardness and Young's modulus due to increase in solid solution strengthening and variation in morphology of eutectoid phase. Also, these values are found to be predictable with the generalized relation through adjustment of the fraction of materials at cell edges and cell walls. The openness of the investigated foams was calculated to obtain degree of openness. The corrosion rate was calculated for each sample of Ti2Co alloys foams and compared with the reported values. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the prepared foams were also compared with that of the human bone.

Energy Absorption Behavior of Al-SiC-Graphene Composite Foam under a High Strain Rate.

The present work was addressed to the closed-cell aluminum (Al)-silicon carbide (SiC) particles (15 wt.%) with graphene (0.5 wt.%) reinforced hybrid composite foam, which was produced through the melt route process. Under the strain rates ranging from 500 s-1 to 2760 s-1, the compression deformation behavior of hybrid composite foam was executed. The compression results disclosed that plateau stress along with energy absorption of produced hybrid composite foam are heightened with strain rates and is also discovered to be responsive to the relative density under the confront domain of experiments. Analysis of Variance was deployed for optimizing parameters such as strain rates, mass, density, relative density, and pore size. Furthermore, the contribution of each optimized parameters on plateau stress and energy absorption were observed.

A comparative study on compressive deformation and corrosion behaviour of heat treated Ti4wt%Al foam of different porosity made of milled and unmilled powders.

Ti4wt%Al alloy foams of various porosities were prepared using milled and unmilled powders through space holder technique. Crystallographic and morphological change in milled powder compared to the unmilled one were also examined. Space holder content was varied to get foams of different porosities. After sintering, foams were thermally oxidized through heat treatment and characterised in terms of their pore size, pore morphology, pore interconnectivity, phase formation and compressive deformation behaviour. It was observed that plastic collapse stress, elastic modulus, plateau stress and energy absorption capacity are strong function of porosity and these are higher for the foam made of milled powder (Mf) than those of the foam made of unmilled one (Uf). Corrosion behaviour of these foams were examined. Open circuit potential, Tafel plot and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirm that Mf has higher corrosion resistance than Uf for the same porosity level. Also, with increasing porosity, corrosion resistance of the foam samples reduces.