20.500.12556/RUL-188123 Phage-functionalized magnetic separation for rapid and selective detection of Escherichia coli Selective bacterial preconcentration remains a key challenge for improving downstream molecular detection. Here, we report carboxymethyl-dextran (CMD) coated magnetic nanoparticle clusters functionalized with lytic T4 bacteriophages (phage@CMD) for selective capture of Escherichia coli. Iron-oxide particles were synthesized by coprecipitation and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and electron microscopy, revealing CMD-stabilized nanoparticle clusters with a hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 181 nm with moderate dispersity (PDI = 0.267). T4 phages were immobilized via EDC/Sulfo-NHS chemistry, yielding a functional loading of ∼5.54 × 10$^{12}$ PFU-equivalent g$^{–1}$ (∼0.053 phage per particle). An empirical Langmuir-type analysis was used solely to estimate surface loading capacity. Phage-functionalized particles enabled magnetic capture of E. coli, resulting in experimentally determined separation efficiencies of ∼20–40%, verified by CFU depletion and PCR analysis of particle-associated fractions. Magnetic preconcentration improved the practical PCR input threshold compared to direct amplification of untreated suspensions. While the study represents a proof-of-concept in laboratory media, limitations including random phage orientation, partial loss of activity after immobilization, and lack of complex-matrix validation are discussed. These findings support the use of phage@CMD as a modular magnetic preconcentration platform for bacteria prior to nucleic-acid–based analysis. bacteria genetics infectious diseases nanoparticles viruses bakterije genetika nalezljive bolezni nanodelci virusi true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-09-18 12:48:15 2026-09-18 12:48:17 2026-09-19 04:30:09 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 37605-37618 iss. 25 Vol. 11 30 Jun. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 602.3:578.347:620.3 2470-1343 10.1021/acsomega.6c02406 286107395 RAZ_Eigenfeld_Marco_2026.pdf RAZ_Eigenfeld_Marco_2026.pdf 1 4B23970DA20800A945D60D94200FAA62 8fbe0c19863a117bd4e6ae1b8150fb7b8f7b1313f96e5f05de003f69d42c54aa ed95ebd7-b34e-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248143 https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/11/25/37605/5170632/Phage-Functionalized-Magnetic-Separation-for-Rapid 1 693f076d-b34e-11f1-8bc5-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=248142 Fakulteta za kemijo in kemijsko tehnologijo 0 0 0