Pradeep Kumar Badiya

Ag-CNT Architectures for Attomolar Dopamine Detection and 100-Fold Fluorescence Enhancements with Cellphone-based Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission Platform

We report cellphone-based detection of dopamine with attomolar sensitivity in clinical samples with the use of a surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) platform. To this end, silver-coated carbon nanotubes were used as spacer and cavity materials on SPCE substrates to obtain up to 100-fold fluorescence enhancements. The presence of silver on the carbon nanotubes helped to overcome fluorescence quenching arising due to π-π interactions between the carbon nanotube and rhodamine 6G. The competing adsorption of dopamine versus rhodamineu20056G on graphene oxide was utilized to develop this sensing platform.

Low-Cost Plasmonic Carbon Spacer for Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission Enhancements and Ethanol Detection: a Smartphone Approach

Surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) has led to significant advancements in analytical techniques on account of its unique characteristics that include highly polarized photon-sorting ability. In this study, we report the use of a low-cost activated carbon as a plasmonic spacer in the SPCE substrate for achieving 30-fold enhancement in fluorescence emission. We extend the use of this spacer in the presence of Rhodamine B Base, a lactone dye as the sensing material for smartphone-based ethanol detection on the SPCE platform. Ethanol detection from 1 to 6% concentration highlights the potential use of this technique in monitoring fermentation processes.

Smartphone Plasmonics for Doxycycline Detection with Silver-Lignin Bio-spacer at Attomolar Sensitivity

We demonstrate the achievement of 100-fold fluorescence enhancement and attomolar doxycycline (DC) detection with the use of Ag-lignin nanocomposite in spacer architecture in surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) platform. Fluorescence quenching on π-π stacking of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) on lignin has been overcome due to the presence of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the lignin surface. The use of cellphone camera as the detector opens the door to next-gen plasmonics based portable diagnostic devices.

Endophytic Fungi from Aegle marmelos Plant: A Potent and Innovative Platform for Enhanced Cellulolytic Enzyme Production

Fungi have a prominent status in fermentation for the production of different bio-products. Endophytic fungi isolated from medicinal plants are particularly formidable in their adaptability to solid state fermentation as an extension of its natural habitat and are also a potent source of broad-spectrum cellulolytic enzymes. We report for the first time the use of endophytic fungus isolated from Aegle marmelos for enhanced cellulolytic enzymes production from groundnut shell (GNS) as substrate. ImageJ software identified Trichoderma harzianum as an endophytic fungus having maximum radial growth rate. A systematic comparison of the endophytic fungus with Aspergillus oryzae , under solid state fermentation (SSF) and submerged fermentation (SmF) conditions was performed and enhanced cellulase production was observed by the endophytic fungus (4.27 FPU/ml) under SSF environment compared to SmF (2.35 FPU/ml). A comprehensive understanding of the systemic breakdown in the structural integrity of the biomass has been achieved using a synergy of enzyme assay protocols, spectral and thermal based techniques. The use of endophytic fungi in SSF systems in our study lays the basis for the production of other industrially important enzymes. The present study opens the door for the synergistic use of endophytic and epiphytic fungi for the production of cellulolytic enzyme.

Spacer layer engineering for ultrasensitive Hg(II) detection on surface plasmon-coupled emission platform

Abstract In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the ultrasensitive detection of Hg2+ ions with femtomolar sensitivity in water samples with the use of the surface plasmon-coupled emission (SPCE) platform. The use of portable network diagnostic tools for water security and integrated water shed management is a topic of recent research interest. In this context, the current study explores Hg2+ monitoring using a rhodamine-6G (Rh6G) derivative bearing a monothiospirolactone mounted onto a SPCE substrate. Thus far, the limit of detection for mercury ions by the conventional fluorescence technique has been 0.15 nm. However, we have achieved 1 fm Hg2+ detection using silver nanoparticle-based spacer layer engineering on an SPCE sensor chip. Using this technology, a field device can be fabricated for rapid, ultrasensitive, multi-analyte detection (of contaminants) in water samples.