Research Projects

The rise in emerging contaminants and adulteration in daily food products has raise a worldwide concern to the human health. Gastritis is known to be caused by a Helicobacter species named Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)[1]. H. pylori has a limited host range and found in humans and some non-human primates. H. pylori colonization affects the majority of clinical disorders which develops in the upper gastrointestinal tract and hepatobiliary tract. Hence, it is important to H. pylori to identify the underlying cause of a problem like peptic ulcer disease, for instance, abnormalities leading to stomach cancer. There are two types of commonly reported gastritis: acute and chronic. The disease is influenced by several virulence factors, including the cag PAI (Pathogenicity Island) and the VacA vacuolating cytotoxin. The invasion and colonization of H. pylori are aided by several adhesins and their receptors. Owing to the variety of attainable nanostructures and various properties, ZnO nanostructures have attracted a lot of attention in the field of materials science and engineering[2].Nanostructured ZnO can exist in different morphologies like nanoflowers[3]. To effectively immobilize the analytes intended to be detected, it is essential to have information about the ZnO's optical characteristics for suitable use in biological sensing applications. ZnO nanostructures of particular physiochemical properties have been utilized in biosensing platforms. ZnO materials exhibit optical phenomena like photoluminescence and surface plasmonic resonance, which make them potential candidates for optical biosensing systems[4]. The benefit of employing the ZnO NP is the high surface-to-volume ratio, which improvest functionalization of biological analytes and a subsequent upgradation in device sensitivity[ 5]. Additionally, ZnO's high isoelectric point (IEP) of 9.5 makes it a good matrix for electrostatic interactions with high binding stability to trap low IEP proteins found in acid or DNA[6]. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) model has emerged as one of the best systems for biomedical and toxicological sciences. This model organism has certain distinctive qualities like transparent embryos, quick development, high fecundity (200–300 eggs), ease of gene modification, and inexpensive cost [7]. The genetic map's screening had shown 400 distinct genes and more than 2000 microsatellite markers in zebrafish. This model system and humans both share similar organ systems in addition to chromosomal commonalities. The stomach, circulatory, and neurological systems, all work similarly to their human counterparts [7]. Owing to the aforesaid problem, this proposal aims to design ZnO nanoflower using green methodology and exploit its properties to the development of protein-functionalized ZnO NFs for the detection of H. pylori. Furthermore, the Zebrafish model system is aimed to use in this study for confirmatory results linked with the developed ZnO NFs-based biosensor.