Detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus via dynamic light scattering using antibody-gold nanoparticle bioconjugates against viral spike protein.

Mass testing for the diagnosis of COVID-19 has been hampered in many countries owing to the high cost of genetic material detection. This study reports on a low-cost immunoassay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 within 30 min using dynamic light scattering (DLS). The immunosensor comprises 50-nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized with antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, whose bioconjugation was confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS). The specific binding of the bioconjugates to the spike protein led to an increase in bioconjugate size, with a limit of detection (LOD) 5.29 × 103 TCID50/mL (Tissue Culture Infectious Dose). The immunosensor was also proven to be selective upon interaction with influenza viruses once no increase in size was observed after DLS measurement. The strategy proposed here aimed to use antibodies conjugated to AuNPs as a generic platform that can be extended to other detection principles, enabling technologies for low-cost mass testing for COVID-19.

Adsorption of CO2 on amine-functionalised MCM-41: experimental and theoretical studies.

Adsorption of CO2 on MCM-41 functionalised with [3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyl]trimethoxysilane (MCM-41-N2), N(1)-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl)diethylenetriamine (MCM-41-N3), 4-aminopyridine (MCM-41-aminopyridine), 4-(methylamino)pyridine (MCM-41-methylaminopyridine) and 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (MCM-41-guanidine) was investigated. The amine-functionalised materials were characterised by (29)Si and (13)C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. CO2 adsorption at 1.0 bar and 30 °C showed that the amount of CO2 (nads/mmol g(-1)) adsorbed on MCM-41-N2 and MCM-41-N3 is approximately twice the amount adsorbed on MCM-41. For MCM-41-aminopyridine, MCM-41-methylaminopyridine and MCM-41-guanidine, the CO2 adsorption capacity was smaller than that of MCM-41 at the same conditions. The proton affinity (computed with wB97x-D/6-311++G(d,p)) of the secondary amino groups is higher than that of the primary amino groups; however, the relative stabilities of the primary and secondary carbamates are similar. The differential heat of adsorption decreases as the number of secondary amino groups increases.

Insights into the interactions of CO2 with amines: a DFT benchmark study.

The interaction between CO2 and 1,2-diaminoethane was computed using pure and hybrid density functionals. The CAM-B3LYP and wB97X-D functionals using a triple-ζ basis set that includes diffuse and polarization functions are the best functionals for calculating the relative energies of the zwitterion intermediate compared to a coupled-cluster with a single, double and non-iterative triple excitation (CCSD(T)) approach extrapolated to a complete basis set limit. With the two functionals and the triple-ζ basis set, the zwitterion is 1.70 kcal mol(-1) less stable than the reactants, and close to 1.63 kcal mol(-1) computed using the CCSD(T) approach. The inclusion of vibrational and thermal corrections and of entropic effects increases the relative energy of the zwitterion to 14.7 kcal mol(-1). Bending of the CO2 geometry increases its acidity due to a 1.09 eV reduction in the LUMO energy. Calculation of the CO2 interaction energy with a set of amines revealed that the interaction energies show a high correlation with their basicities, with the stronger bases stabilizing the zwitterion. For the most basic amine computed (3,4,6,7,8,9-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine), the Gibbs free energy of the zwitterion is 15.8 kcal mol(-1) lower than the reactants. Therefore, for this highly basic amine, the zwitterion may have a longer lifetime, in contrast to 2-aminoethanol (MEA), where it is only a transient species.

1,5-Bis(2-formyl-phen-oxy)-3-oxapenta-ne.

In the title mol-ecule, C(18)H(18)O(5), the two aromatic rings are connected by a flexible 3-oxapentane chain. The mol-ecule has a crystallographic twofold rotation axis (C(2)) passing through the central O atom. An intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond is observed in the solid state.