Quenched Surface Coating for Specific Microbe Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for detecting pathogenic microorganisms on surfaces, such as medical devices and food preparation surfaces, are time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive, and can result in false positives or negatives due to environmental factors or slow diffusion of fluorescent agents.

Innovation Solution

A surface coating comprising polymers with covalently linked peptides that include a cleavage site specific to a limited group of microbial strains, a fluorescent agent with a quencher agent, where cleavage of the site releases a non-fluorescent agent indicative of the presence of these strains, allowing for rapid detection without diffusion-dependent false results.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a fluorescent agent is released into the matrix or surrounding area for detection, then detection of microorganisms is enabled, but false negatives may result due to slow diffusion away from the surface coating

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoiddetection time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of releasing the fluorescent agent and detecting its diffusion, the invention inverts the approach by retaining the fluorescent agent on the surface and releasing a quencher agent. When the cleavage site is cleaved by microbial compounds, the quencher is released and removed from the surface, allowing the fluorescent agent's signal to appear. This inversion eliminates dependence on fluorescent agent diffusion while maintaining detection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention extracts the quencher agent from the peptide structure and allows its selective release upon microbial detection. By taking out the quencher's suppressing effect through selective release, the fluorescent signal is enabled only when specific microbes are present, improving both detection accuracy and speed without relying on slow diffusion processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the implant is not responsive to a specific pathogenic microbe, then false positives are possible due to purely environmental and not microbial causes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemicrobe specificityVSAvoidfalse positive rate

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The invention applies local quality by designing the cleavage site with specific molecular recognition properties that respond only to compounds from specific pathogenic microbes. The peptide sequence and cleavage site are locally optimized to be responsive only to the target microbe's compounds, ensuring that environmental factors cannot trigger false positives while maintaining high specificity to the intended pathogen.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Measurement precision

If current standard microbiological culture methods are used, then detection of microorganisms is achieved, but the process is time consuming, costly and labour intensive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetection reliabilityVSAvoiddetection efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces the mechanical and biological processes of microbiological culture (incubation, growth, manual analysis) with a direct chemical-optical detection system. The fluorescent-peptide-quencher system provides immediate signal generation upon microbial compound interaction, eliminating the need for time-consuming culture procedures while maintaining reliable detection through specific molecular recognition and optical signal transduction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The coating reduces the chance of false positives by ensuring emission of light only when the cleavage site is activated by specific microbial compounds, providing a rapid and reliable detection method.

Implementation Method 1

a first fluorescent agent having an emission wavelength of 650-900 nm

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluorescence: Fluorescence

Implementation Method 2

a first non-fluorescent agent having an absorption wavelength of 650-900 nm, for quenching said emission of said first fluorescent agent

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAbsorption (EM radiation): Absorption (EM radiation)

Data Source

PatentUS12533443B2Quenched coating

Publication Date: 2026.01.27 ORIGINAL G BV

AI summary

Described is an object surface coating comprising one or more polymers and a peptide covalently linked to at least one of said one or more polymers, said peptide comprisinga) a first cleavage site, wherein said first cleavage site is cleaved by a first compound specifically provided by a microbe belonging to a first group consisting of a limited number of microbial strains, species or genera, and not cleaved by any compound provided by any microbe not belonging to said first group, b) a first fluorescent agent having an emission wavelength of 650-900 nm,c) a first non-fluorescent agent having an absorption wavelength of 650-900 nm, for quenching said emission of said first fluorescent agent,wherein cleavage of said first cleavage site results in the release of said first non-fluorescent agent from the coating, the release of said first non-fluorescent agent being indicative for the presence of a microbe belonging to said first group.