Simple Endotoxin Detection Using Polymyxin-B-Gated Nanoparticles

Abstract

A nanodevice based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles with rhodamine B in the pore framework, functionalized with carboxylates on the outer surface and capped with the cationic polymyxin B peptide, was used to selectively detect endotoxin in aqueous solutions with a limit of detection in the picomolar range.

Keywords: endotoxin; fluorogenic detection; gated materials; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; polymyxin B.