Claudia Preininger

• Dr. rer. nat.
• Formulation Expert at Austrian Institute of Technology

The incidence of plant pests and the transmission of plant diseases by insects is increasing steadily. The use of chemical pesticides to control pests and ensure continued food production for a growing population is on the rise, with adverse effects on the environment. Consequently, there is a growing need for more sustainable methods based on the...

Implementing “soil health” means sustainable management of agricultural soils, avoiding toxicities, and sensible use of resources to minimize waste. In this context, the use of plastic in agriculture in form of plastic products, the application of polymers and additives in fertilizers, and plastic input through littering and tyre wear demands our s...

One of the most widely known biogenic amines is histamine, which plays an important role in the human immune system. Some people suffer from allergic reactions after a histamine-rich diet; this is called histamine intolerance. The aim of this work is to develop a quick and reliable method for the detection and quantification of histamine in food, b...

Damages of the (agro)ecosystem by extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the global dying of bee populations possibly linked to pesticide spraying, and stricter regulations for pesticide use together with successful use of microbials in IPM programs are pushing on the development and commercialization of new microbial products and a...

We developed a competitive fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) assay to detect biogenic amines in fish samples. MIPs synthesized by precipitation polymerization using histamine as template were used in a batch binding assay analogous to competitive fluoroimmunoassays. Introducing a complex sample matrix, such as fish extract, into the a...

A colorimetric microarray for the multiplexed detection of recurrence of bladder cancer including protein markers interleukin-8 (IL8), decorin (DCN), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was established to enable easy and cheap read-out by a simple office scanner paving the way for quick therapy monitoring at doctors' offices. The chip is...

This study describes the development and the challenges in the development of an on-chip immunoassay for histamine using commercially available antibodies. Histamine can be used as an indicator of food freshness and quality, but it is also a relevant marker in clinical diagnostics. Due to its low molecular weight, simple structure and thus low immu...

The application of beneficial, plant-associated microorganisms is a sustainable approach to improving crop performance in agriculture. However, microbial inoculants are often susceptible to prolonged periods of storage and deleterious environmental factors, which negatively impact their viability and ultimately limit efficacy in the field. This par...

Herein, we present a workflow for the development of talc-based microbial inoculants for foliar spray consisting of four steps. These include together with decision-making criteria (1) the selection of additives based on their capability to wet juvenile maize leaves, (2) their adhesion on the plant, (3) their interaction with the biological systems...

The fluorescence-based multi-analyte chip platform for the analysis of estrogenic and anti-estrogenic substances is a new in vitro tool for the high throughput screening of environmental samples. In contrast to existing tools, the chip investigates the complex action of xenoestrogens in a human cell model by characterizing protein expression. It al...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mineral carriers bentonite, silica and talc as potential supports for immobilization of the plant growth promoting bacterium Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN, and determine the factors influencing bacterial adsorption to provide stable and efficient microbial inoculants for use in the field. Results revea...

Aim: Producing dry, zeolite-based granular and powder inoculants of the Gram negative, plant growth-promoting bacterium Paraburkholderia phytofirmans PsJN. Key aspects were maintenance of cell viability during desiccation and throughout storage at ambient conditions. Methods and results: 20 additives and exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by PsJN...

Context: 50-70% of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) experience relapse of disease. Objective: To establish a panel of protein biomarkers incorporated in a multiplexed microarray (BCa chip) and a classifier for diagnosing recurrent NMIBC. Materials and methods: Urine samples from 45 patients were tested. Diagnostic performanc...

Four different materials (two ab initio synthesized polyurethanes; ready-to-use: Epon1002F and PVA-SbQ) for the generation of E. coli surface imprints are compared in this work. The use of commercially available, ready-to-use materials instead of self synthesized polymers represents an innovative and convenient way of molecular imprint fabrication....

The present study demonstrates the modification of carbon black and its usage as a detection label in colorimetric immunoassays on a microarray format. We show the feasibility using a binding inhibition assay for histamine, which is a marker of food freshness and quality. The modified carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) were characterized by determining fu...

Purpose. Nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (BCa) has a high recurrence rate requiring lifelong surveillance. Urinary biomarkers are promising as simple alternatives to cystoscopy for the diagnosis of recurrent bladder cancer. However, no single marker can achieve the required accuracy. The purpose of this study was to select a multiparameter panel,...

A range of lab-scale methods for encapsulation of plant growth-promoting bacteria in alginate beads intended for seed coating was evaluated: contact-spotting, extrusion through syringe with/without vibration, ejection by robotic liquid handler, extrusion by centrifugal force and commercial devices (nanodispenser, aerodynamically assisted jetting, e...

Supplementary material describes the content of each marker assay kit together with their source and characteristics.

Burkholderia phytofirmans PsJN is a Gram negative, plant growth-promoting endophyte and may be applied as a “biofertilizer” in agriculture. However, beneficial effects observed under controlled conditions lack repeatability in field tests. This may be due to deleterious environmental conditions, limited shelf life and competing native soil microorg...

Plasmonic amplification of fluorescence signal in bioassays with microarray detection format is reported. A crossed relief diffraction grating was designed to couple an excitation laser beam to surface plasmons at the wavelength overlapping with the absorption and emission bands of fluorophore Dy647 that was used as a label. The surface of periodic...

Two approaches to set up a functional protein chip platform for the detection of enrofloxacin in milk have been carried out: (A) the functionalization of enrofloxacin with either large carrier proteins (BSA, ALP, KLH, HRP) or bifunctional crosslinkers (adipic acid dihydrazide) and subsequent immobilization on a reactive surface and (B) the chemical...

Bladder cancer (BCa) is a serious malignancy of the urinary tract worldwide and also prominent for its high rate of recurrence incorporating 50% of all treated patients. To reduce relapse of BCa, lifelong surveillance of patients is essential leading to high treatment costs. The gold standard for the diagnosis of bladder cancer is cystoscopy. It is...

We report about a point-of-care device for the diagnosis of sepsis. For this a useful set of diagnostic parameters must be analyzed in parallel, to combine the diagnostic benefit of each parameter. By this the severity of sepsis can be diagnosed, predictive indicators can be gathered and it is possible to differentiate between viral and bacterial s...

A protein microarray for the early-stage diagnosis of sepsis that allows the simultaneous detection of C-reactive protein (CRP) (2 - 200 µg/mL), Procalcitonin (PCT) (0.2-50 ng/mL) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) (2-2000 pg/mL) has been developed. To enable the parallel detection of the differently abundant analytes, the low binding affinity between CRP an...

A complex pre-polymerized film comprising monomers, cross-linkers and initiator is usually used to create molecularly imprinted polymers. We herein exploit ready-to-use resist materials and link molecular surface imprinting with UV- and thermo nanoimprinting techniques to create a sensor layer for the specific recognition of the bacterial surface m...

Neonatal sepsis is still a leading cause of death among newborns. Therefore a protein-microarray for point-of-care testing that simultaneously quantifies the sepsis associated serum proteins IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF alpha, S-100, PCT, E-Selectin, CRP and Neopterin has been developed. The chip works with only a 4 μL patient serum sample and hence mini...

Both highly specific antibodies and appropriate assay buffers are key elements in the development of sensitive multi-analyte diagnostic tests and essential assay components to minimize interferences from the sample matrix. Herein, we investigate the influence of 0.1 M Tris (pH 7.4)/0.1 M NaCl/10 mM CaCl(2)/0.1% Tween-20 used as assay buffer and dil...

The NILaustria research project cluster consists of 8 individual research projects and aims to improve nanoimprint lithography in an application driven approach. The cluster is presented as well as highlights from the projects, e.g. the replication of 12.5nm half pitch features using working stamp copies, topics from organic electronics, metamateri...

We present herein a protein chip for diagnosis of sepsis that combines both a sandwich and a binding inhibition format in order to quantify high (CRP) and low abundant proteins (cytokines, PCT, neopterin) in parallel. Using the combined assay format the lowest detectable concentrations for CRP, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, PCT, and neopterin are 3 mg/L...

a b s t r a c t Nanostructures of 1 lm period and 180 nm height were fabricated by thermal nanoimprint lithography (thermal NIL) and implemented in protein chips to enhance chip sensitivity. Three epoxy resins which are well characterized materials in lab-on-chip systems and (bio)MEMS and are able to bind proteins via their epoxy function are teste...

Nanobiolithography techniques have the ability to fabricate structures of biomolecules as small as ∼40nm. However, very few examples of working biosensors of these sizes have been demonstrated. These examples use substrates like Gold and Silicon, that are advantageous for fabrication purposes, but present disadvantages as far as signal detection is...

Protein microarrays for disease diagnostics are required to accurately quantify analytes in the low pg/mL range. This task is hampered by weak signal strengths and too low detector sensitivity. Herein we present reflective gold chips coated with polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) for signal enhancement in immunoassays for melanoma-relevant biomarke...

Objective of the study is the simultaneous measurement of three sepsis relevant parameters using a novel point-of-care system. Investigated parameters are C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and procalcitonin (PCT). The format is a fluorescence and microarray-based sandwich immunoassay. Studies to determine the optimum conditions for an...

The clinical course of malignant melanoma is notoriously variable. Current staging criteria allow assignment to risk categories but do not permit accurate assessment of prognosis. The simultaneous detection of biomarkers reflecting disease stage and likelihood of progression is therefore urgently needed for treatment decisions.Herein we describe th...

The impact of substrates for probe immobilization was studied using a microbial diagnostic microarray consisting of probes designed against the pmoA genes of methanotrophs and functionally related bacteria. The proprietary ARChip Epoxy was compared to seven epoxy-modified competitor slides, and one porous 3D, furthermore two substrates recommended...

Plain poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) surfaces, PVA surfaces tailored with additives (chitosan, chitosan-oligo) and PVA surfaces crosslinked with homo- or hetero-bifunctional amino-linkers (ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, adipic acid dihydrazide, 3-aminophenylboronic acid) were evaluated for their ability to immobilize IgG. Immobilization strategi...

This study describes a RNA aptamer-based biochip with high affinity and specificity for C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP, which exists in concentrations of 1-3mg/l in the serum of healthy patients, has been identified as a reliable biomarker for inflammation and as a potential marker for sepsis and tissue necrosis. The CRP-specific aptamer was covalen...

The detection of protein-protein binding on microarrays using the fluorescence lifetime as a dynamic analytical parameter was investigated in a model system. The assay is based on Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) and carried out with biotinylated Bovine Serum Albumin and streptavidin, labeled with the commonly used microarray dyes Alexa 555...

The reproducibility of three-dimensional hydrogel surfaces based on polyurethane, poly(vinyl alcohol), and polyacrylamide (HydroGel) with respect to scanning mode (confocal vs nonconfocal), alignment (circular vs irregular), and influence of fluorescent background was investigated. It is demonstrated that, if even probe spots are provided, fluoresc...

In this article, the assay performance of 3D polyurethane (PU) hydrogel surfaces, used either plain or modified with cross linkers and additives in a direct immunoassay for IgG, is correlated with chip surface parameters such as water content and expansion, mechanical stability, hydrophilicity, thickness, and surface topography. Commercial chip sur...

In this article, the assay performance of 3D polyurethane (PU) hydrogel surfaces, used either plain or modified with cross linkers and additives in a direct immunoassay for IgG, is correlated with chip surface parameters such as water content and expansion, mechanical stability, hydrophilicity, thickness, and surface topography. Commercial chip sur...

Hydrogels are considered an optimum material for protein chip surfaces, since they provide a quasi-liquid environment which allows protein activity to be maintained and shows good spot morphology as well as excellent immobilization capacity. In the following, we present a polyurethane (PU) chip that electrostatically binds IgG. The PU surface is op...

Hydrogels are considered an optimum material for protein chip surfaces, since they provide a quasi-liquid environment which allows protein activity to be maintained and shows good spot morphology as well as excellent immobilization capacity. In the following, we present a polyurethane (PU) chip that electrostatically binds IgG. The PU surface is op...

Biochips (www.gene-chips.com; www.functionalgenomics.org.uk) are bioanalytical devices applicable to diagnostics, drug discovery, and life science research. According to Weller “microarrays can be defined as spatially ordered, miniaturized arrangement of a multitude of immobilized reagents”. In addition to “microarray” other terms, such as chip, mi...

Signal enhancement of oligonucleotide and protein arrays on ARChip Epoxy was achieved by optimizing chip processing parameters. The parameters investigated were fabrication, blocking and guide dot concentration, probe concentration and modification, print buffer, humidity during arraying, slide agitation, spot volume and spotter compatibility. The...

3D-materials, such as cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), PVA/monochlorotriazinyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCT)-doped sol-gel and modified melamine particles were employed as an immobilization matrix for proteins in order to obtain enhanced signal-to-noise ratios. Cross-linking PVA surfaces with cyanuric chloride (TsT) leads to 1.4-fold signal enhanceme...

Biochip technology has been revolutionizing most fields of molecular biology. One of the main issues confronting further development of biochip technology is the strength of signals produced by probe-target interaction, especially in cases of low probe and target concentrations. In order to achieve stronger signals and lower detection limits, we ai...

Microarrays are high-throughput tools for parallel miniaturized detection of biomolecules. In contrast to experiments using ratios of signals in two channels, experiments with only one fluorescent dye cause special problems for data analysis. The present work compares algorithms for quality filtering on spot level as well as array/slide level. Meth...

Microarrays are a widely used bioanalytical tool in diagnostics, drug discovery and life science research. However, most microarrays suffer from insufficient sensitivity at low probe and target concentration and from a sometimes poor signal-to-noise ratio. This problem can be overcome by the development of 3-dimensional surfaces that provide increa...

Biochip surfaces for immobilization of DNA and proteins require reactive polymers with high immobilization capacity and low nonspecific binding. Most reactive surfaces consist of matrixes that provide epoxy, aldehyde, or amino functions for biomolecule binding. The most widely used oligonucleotide modification is a C6-amino link. The high reactivit...

ARChip Epoxy and ARChip UV are presented as novel chip platforms for oligonucleotide immobilization. ARChip Epoxy is made of reactive epoxy resin available commercially. ARChip UV consists of photoactivatable poly(styrene-co-4-vinylbenzylthiocyanate). Both ARChip surfaces are tested in a model assay based on oligonucleotide probes from a real-life...

With the completion of the human genome project biochip technologies have boosted and revolutionized automated genomic and proteomic analysis (www. microarrays. org; www. gene-chips. com) [1–7]. Based on conventional biomolecular techniques such as Southern and Northern blotting, sample preparation and assay was miniaturized by micromachining and m...

Biochips are miniaturized, highly ordered analysis systems which offer the unique advantage of highly parallel analysis of thousands of analytes at the same time. Although this technique has been enthusiastically developed and has promised to improve and speed up numerous biological assays, the quality control of chip manufacture, chip analysis and...

Biochip technology is rapidly advancing and Provides a potential impact on drug development and disease profiling, diagnostics, gene discovery and gene expression. The major advantage of biochips over conventional biological techniques is the highly parallel, addressable, miniaturized array format which allows simultaneous detection of different ta...

In biotechnological applications there is an enormeous growth in the development of new miniaturized devices to reduce timescales, cost and amounts of reagents and starting materials. DNA chips represent miniaturized analytical tools that allow the simultaneous detection of different targets for high throughput screening. They consist of a small si...

The bioactivity of anti-human IgG Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, the non-specific adsorption of protein and the topography of anti-IgG LB films have been studied for application in immunosensors. The antibody (AB) LB films were horizontally deposited on glass and functionalized polymers, such as carboxy-poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-COOH), chloropropyl...

Three different polymers were tested for application in a direct evanescent wave immunoassay. For this purpose, 50mm of a 200μm plastic clad silica fibre was stripped off the cladding and coated with either 7% (w/w) polystyrene (n=1.59) in tetrahydrofuran (THF), 7% (w/w) carboxylated poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-COOH) (n=1.55) in THF or chloropropyl-m...

Biosensor miniaturisation often requires the construction of micro volume cells using micro-machining techniques. In this work, a micro flow cell made of a transparent polymer [poly(methyl methacrylate)] developed for using with a fluorescence immunoglobulin G (IgG) immunosensor is described. The micro flow cell provides space to enclose a small am...

The effect of endothelial cell adhesion on polyurethanes coated with Langmuir-Blodgett antibody films has been examined. The films were cross-linked with glutaraldehyde with the aim of providing a densely packed and covalently linked two-dimensional antibody network on the polyurethane surfaces. Our results demonstrate that although neither of the...

We report on a quick and simple test based on enzyme inhibition for the detection of mercury and copper using free acid urease coupled to an optical sensor system. Lipophilized Nile Blue was incorporated in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) to produce an ammonium-sensitive layer with a thickness of around 4 m. The layer was fixed on one side o...

We report on the effect of organomodified sol-gel materials on fluorosensors for ammonia. The fluorosensors are based on ion pairs composed of an inert fluorophore and a pH-sensitive absorber dye and are embedded in sol-gel glass. Upon exposure to ammonia, deprotonation of the pH-sensitive dye bromophenolblue occurrs, and consequently, energy is tr...

Homogenous and fully transparent optical sensor layers have been prepared by pairing anionic indicator dyes with lipophilic quaternary ammonium halides (see Figure for an example) and then dissolving the pairs in an appropriate polymer. The synthesis of six ion pairs and the characterization of the resulting materials are described, along with the...

We report on fluorosensors for ammonia using rhodamines incorporated in plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and in sol-gel matrix. The response of rhodamine B is due to a change in its molecular structure. When exposed to ammonia, the rhodamine is converted into a colorless, non-fluorescent lactone. As a result, the decrease in fluorescence inte...

We report on a quick and simple test for detection of heavy metals based on the inhibition of free urease contained in a disposable cuvette. The wall of the cuvette has been covered with sensors for either ammonia or ammonium ion, and the kinetics of the enzymatic reaction has been monitored by monitoring the color of the sensing layer rather than...

A new kind of optical sensor for monitoring dissolved ammonia uses rhodamines immobilized in thin membranes made from ethylcellulose, poly(vinyl chloride) or poly(vinyl acetate). The response to ammonia is the result of a change in the molecular structure of the rhodamine. On exposure to ammonia, the rhodamine is converted to a colorless and non-fl...

A thermometric assay for the measurement of copper(II) is reported that makes use of acid urease immobilized on controlled-pore glass (CPG) with coupling to a thermometric continuous-flow sensor system. Enzyme thermistor analysis was performed by a flow injection technique. Urea was injected into the system to give a temperature change correspondin...

We report on an optical cuvette test for total heavy metals based on the inhibition of the enzyme urease by metals ions including silver(I), mercury(II), copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II), and cadmium(II). The enzymatic action is monitored using an optical ammonia transducer deposited on the wall of a disposable cuvette. This results in a rapid an...

We describe the first fiber-optic microbial sensor for determination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The sensing membrane at the tip of the fiber consists of layers of (a) an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent material, (b) Trichosporon cutaneum immobilized in poly(vinyl alcohol), and (c) a substrate-permeable polycarbonate membrane to retain the yea...

Nowadays sepsis is one of the most common causes of death in intensive care units. It often takes too long to draw a diagnostic report, especially if the patient is not in hospital at the beginning of an infection. In hospitals, blood and other patient samples are usually taken and analyzed in central laboratories. Afterwards the diagnosis is sent...