Sara is working on a project looking at a new way to detect Mastitis in cows. Mastitis is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation in mammary glands of cows, which is detrimental to milk production. Millions of dollars would be saved annually if a simple and early test could be devised to detect mastitis. As part of Sara’s research, she investigated whether a “chemical probe” could be used to detect mastitis in early stages. The probe is based on chemically attaching a fluorescent “tag” to an enzyme that is produced when the mastitis bacteria are present and producing toxin in the mammary glands.The presence of the enzyme, and therefore the bacterial toxin, should then be detectable by seeing whether the sample fluoresces under special light conditions. This could greatly simplify the testing for mastitis, leading to substantial savings for the farmers. In a second, related project, the fluorescence of molecules was used as a tool to investigate how molecules interact with each other. It is based on a field of study known as “Host-Guest Chemistry”, where large cage molecules (the host) can capture smaller molecules (the guest) inside a cage-like cavity. If a fluorescent guest is used, then the guest molecule will change its fluorescence when the guest is introduced, allowing the chemist to see whether guest has been accepted, or bound to the larger molecule. This has numerous applications, including the detection of fluorescent trace pollutants in natural waters. Sara has been studying a special host, called bistren, which is itself fluorescent. This allows for the study of the binding of any guest molecule (not just fluorescent ones), and has the potential to expand the range of trace detection applications.
Sara Accardi - Chemistry
Sara is working on a project looking at a new way to detect Mastitis in cows. Mastitis is a bacterial infection that causes inflammation in mammary glands of cows, which is detrimental to milk production. Millions of dollars would be saved annually if a simple and early test could be devised to detect mastitis. As part of Sara’s research, she investigated whether a “chemical probe” could be used to detect mastitis in early stages. The probe is based on chemically attaching a fluorescent “tag” to an enzyme that is produced when the mastitis bacteria are present and producing toxin in the mammary glands.The presence of the enzyme, and therefore the bacterial toxin, should then be detectable by seeing whether the sample fluoresces under special light conditions. This could greatly simplify the testing for mastitis, leading to substantial savings for the farmers. In a second, related project, the fluorescence of molecules was used as a tool to investigate how molecules interact with each other. It is based on a field of study known as “Host-Guest Chemistry”, where large cage molecules (the host) can capture smaller molecules (the guest) inside a cage-like cavity. If a fluorescent guest is used, then the guest molecule will change its fluorescence when the guest is introduced, allowing the chemist to see whether guest has been accepted, or bound to the larger molecule. This has numerous applications, including the detection of fluorescent trace pollutants in natural waters. Sara has been studying a special host, called bistren, which is itself fluorescent. This allows for the study of the binding of any guest molecule (not just fluorescent ones), and has the potential to expand the range of trace detection applications.
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