PROBING BACTERIAL FLAGELLAR POLYMORPHISM IN VARIOUS FLUIDIC ENVIRONMENTS USING SOLID-STATE SUB-MICROPORES

摘要

A novel method for the detection of an assortment of environmental conditions in a microfluidic system using bacterial flagella and submicro-scale solid state pores is presented. Differences in various environmental conditions stimulate the polymorphic helix structure of Salmonella typhimurium flagella to transform to its lowest energetic conformation. By measuring the ionic current blockage (resistive pulse) as flagella electrophoretically translocate a submicro-scale pore, detection of the polymorphic state of flagella corresponding to the conditions of the environmental stimuli is possible. We test the viability of this method using purified depolymerized and repolymerized S. Typhimurium flagella and a high resolution electrical signal readout sub-micropore-based detection system.