ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes recent work on ultrafast and sensitive
bioassays based on the combined use of focused microwaves, low-
power microwave heating, and metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF)
for the extraction and detection of biological targets of interest from
pathogens and cells. When exposed to microwaves, metallic struc-
tures focus the fields to their immediate surroundings, resulting in
increased electric fields at the peripheries. Subsequently, substan-
tially increased electric field gradients increases the temperature of
materials placed near these structures. The temperature increases
can be controlled within a range of 30◦C to 130◦C, affording for DNA hybridization events to occur in several seconds at low temperatures
and the extraction of biological materials from pathogens and cells
at high temperatures. Subsequently, ultrafast and sensitive detection
of proteins or DNA extracted from pathogens and cells can be
carried out readily using MEF and low-power microwave heating.
The real-life application of the combined use of these technologies
was demonstrated for Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) spores and vegetative cells, the causative pathogen for anthrax.
