Microbiology Commons^™

Utilization Of Ferrioxamine Microarrays For The Rapid Detection Of Pathogenic Bacteria, Nigam Bir Arora

Open Access Dissertations

Siderophores are low-molecular weight species utilized by bacteria for the sequestration of iron, an essential nutrient. Siderophores and their cognate receptors are considered to be virulence factors, due to their prominent role in pathogenicity. The work presented here focuses on ferrioxamine (FOx) as an “immutable” ligand for pathogen detection. A number of bacterial strains expressing high-affinity FOx receptors were identified by a proteomic BLAST search, and screened against microarrays patterned with FOx conjugates for detection using label-free optical imaging. Aspects such as inkjet printing and surface chemistry, iron-limiting conditions and bacterial selection protocols, and linker conjugate design were addressed and …