{"title":"Molecularly imprinted polymer thin film solid phase microextraction for biomarkers of anaerobic metabolism of BTEX by microorganisms involved in bioremediation and in microbially influenced corrosion","authors":"Temitope Odunayo Nwachukwu,Reza Akhoondi,Christina Sheila Bottaro","doi":"10.1039/d6an00943c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an00943c","url":null,"abstract":"A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) composed of 2-vinylpyridine and 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium acetate (FMs) imprinted with homophthalic acid (pseudo-template (T) was fabricated directly on a stainless-steel substrate for selective adsorption of mono- and dicarboxylic acid metabolites of light aromatic components of petrogenic oil from complex aqueous samples. The analytical method features multiplexed sample processing, which yeilds high-throughput extraction and desorption (≥ 45 samples in 2.7 h or <4 min/sample), combined with a fast (8 min) UHPLC-MS/MS method for analysis of metabolites associated with microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) and bioremediation. Notable parameters that influence extraction efficiency, such as ratios of polymer components, extraction time, desorption time, desorption volume, and desorption solvent, were optimized. Polymer morphology, porosity and surface area were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption porosimetry (Brunauer Emmett-Teller, BET), respectively. The method achieved limits of detection (LOD) ranging from 0.05-0.2 ng mL-1 and limits of quantitation (LOQ) from 0.1-0.5 ng mL-1 with excellent linearity (R2 > 0.998) over 2-3 orders of magnitude for monocarboxylic acids (e.g., 0.1-500 ng mL-1 for salicylic acid, 0.5-1000 ng mL-1 for o, p, m-toluic acid) and for dicarboxylic metabolites (e.g., 0.5-500 ng mL-1 for phenylsuccinic acid and 0.1-500 ng mL-1 for benzylsuccinic acid). The accuracies from spiked samples ranged from 84-4-108% with %RSD of 1.6-13% for seawater and 83.6-114% with %RSD of 1.3-10.5% for produced water.","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149230138","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-20DOI: 10.1039/d6an00881j
Jie Qu,Lixia Mei,Xinxin Li,Hong Zhang,Hongfei He,Yuan Xu,Yongjun Yang,Guangcheng Luo
{"title":"A novel double-stranded probe minimizes false-positive and false-negative LAMP results with ultrasensitivity and high specificity","authors":"Jie Qu,Lixia Mei,Xinxin Li,Hong Zhang,Hongfei He,Yuan Xu,Yongjun Yang,Guangcheng Luo","doi":"10.1039/d6an00881j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an00881j","url":null,"abstract":"Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is one of the most widely used molecular diagnostic methods and is considered a promising tool for point-of-care testing (POCT). However, because LAMP requires multiple complex primers, false-positive and false-negative results can occur, thereby limiting its clinical applicability. Herein, we propose a novel chemically modified double-stranded probe (CDP) to reduce false-positive and false-negative LAMP results, thereby developing CDP-assisted LAMP (CLAMP). The CDP consists of a recognition strand (RS) and a 2′-fluoro (2′-F)-modified signal strand (SS). We found that the 2′-F-modified SS has a significantly higher melting temperature than its natural counterpart, providing excellent thermostability and a high signal-to-noise ratio. During the CLAMP reaction, the CDP specifically binds to LAMP amplicons via its RS, and the SS is efficiently displaced by Bst DNA polymerase, enabling specific fluorescence generation. With the assistance of CDP, CLAMP effectively reduces false-positive and false-negative results and tolerates common interfering compounds. Furthermore, CLAMP was 100-fold more sensitive than conventional LAMP and exhibited 100% accuracy in clinical validation. In summary, a novel CDP-based strategy was established to enhance the performance of LAMP, thereby improving its applicability and offering a promising tool for POCT molecular diagnosis.","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-20DOI: 10.1039/d6an00749j
Jiayi Yan,Xiuli Wu,Jingyan Gao,Wentao Su,Xiaomeng Ren,Fanhua Kong,Shuang Song
{"title":"A tape-based intestinal chip co-culture model for assessing anti-inflammatory activity of chitosan oligosaccharides","authors":"Jiayi Yan,Xiuli Wu,Jingyan Gao,Wentao Su,Xiaomeng Ren,Fanhua Kong,Shuang Song","doi":"10.1039/d6an00749j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an00749j","url":null,"abstract":"Intestinal inflammation is a central pathological process in gastrointestinal diseases, yet conventional in vitro models poorly reproduce epithelial–immune interactions, and accessible platforms for rapid anti-inflammatory screening remain lacking. Here, a low-cost, high-throughput tape-based intestinal chip co-culturing Caco-2 epithelial cells and RAW264.7 macrophages under dynamic flow was applied to approximate the epithelial–macrophage interface of the intestinal wall and to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of chitosan oligosaccharides (COS). Three COS fractions (COS1, COS2, COS3; 3.6, 2.7, and 0.8 kDa) prepared from Antarctic krill shell exhibited molecular weight-dependent transepithelial permeability, with COS3 showing the highest permeability. All COS fractions significantly suppressed LPS-induced NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation, macrophage morphological activation, and the production of NO, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6, with the low-molecular-weight COS3 showing the strongest effects under equal-mass dosing. Targeted metabolomics identified four candidate marker metabolites (proline, asparagine, GTP, and α-ketoglutaric acid) that were elevated by LPS and partially restored by COS treatment, providing a metabolic signature for rapid evaluation of anti-inflammatory efficacy. These findings establish the integrated tape-based chip–metabolomics strategy as an accessible platform for screening anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds and highlight the potential of low-molecular-weight COS as anti-inflammatory agents.","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":"33 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-19DOI: 10.1039/d6an00926c
Octavion Spears, Alexander Grooms, Benjamin Burris, Abraham K Badu-Tawiah
{"title":"A multi-modal mass spectrometric approach for lipid analysis enabled by online fractionation of complex mixtures in a solid-phase extraction cartridge.","authors":"Octavion Spears, Alexander Grooms, Benjamin Burris, Abraham K Badu-Tawiah","doi":"10.1039/d6an00926c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an00926c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to develop a direct infusion analytical platform for analyzing complex lipid mixtures using a solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge. The SPE cartridge was developed in-house and coupled to a contained-electrospray ionization (cESI) source, which enabled online fractionation of lipids followed by real-time mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of eluates. The SPE cartridge was packed with a silica sorbent. We used multiple solvents with varying polarities to sequentially elute and characterize different lipids. To stabilize the electrospray signal derived from nonpolar organic solvents, our SPE-cES-MS platform utilized a co-axial spray system that allowed an ammonium acetate containing lipase enzyme to be delivered from a second electrospray capillary. In its fullest implementation, the SPE-cESI-MS platform was applied to fractionate a sample mixture containing 18 different lipids using hexane, ethanol, and water for sequential elution from the silica sorbent. Together, the three elution steps enabled 93.0% of the lipids in the mixture to be detected, with overall improvement in signal intensities. In contrast, without the miniaturized SPE front-end, direct analysis of the 18-component lipid mixture resulted in the detection of 85.7% of the lipids. The solvents employed were optimized by evaluating their selectivity for polar and nonpolar lipids. The limits of detection associated with the elution of nonpolar lipids (<i>e.g.</i>, trilinolein) from the polar silica surface were determined to be 0.62 µM and 0.84 µM for the elution of polar oleic acid from the same sorbent. This work represents a rapid and affordable analytical approach for analyzing complex lipid mixtures in situations where conventional chromatography cannot be used, including analysis on a portable mass spectrometer.</p>","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149219687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-15DOI: 10.1039/d6an01039c
Anika Amir Mohana,Felicity Roddick,Biplob Kumar Pramanik
{"title":"Time–temperature degradation of fatty acids in sewer fat, oil, and grease deposits: a framework for sample storage and handling","authors":"Anika Amir Mohana,Felicity Roddick,Biplob Kumar Pramanik","doi":"10.1039/d6an01039c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an01039c","url":null,"abstract":"Fat, oil, and grease (FOG) deposits present significant challenges in wastewater systems, yet the stability of their fatty acid (FA) components prior to analysis remains poorly defined. Given the lack of a validated sample-handling and preservation method for wastewater FOG, this study quantified the degradation of FAs in synthetic FOG stored at −20 °C, −10 °C, 4 °C, and 25 °C over 15 months and established a temperature-specific degradation threshold. FA degradation was modelled using zero- and first-order kinetics and temperature-dependent models, including the Williams–Landel–Ferry, reciprocal polynomial, Power-law, and Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher models. Results showed that FAs degraded under all storage conditions, with cumulative losses exceeding 50% at every temperature after 15 months. After one month, degradation ranged from only 1.9% at −20 °C to 15.1% at 25 °C. Kinetic analysis indicated first-order behaviour at −20 °C, 4 °C, and 25 °C, whereas zero-order kinetics were observed at −10 °C, reflecting distinct mechanisms between complete and partial freezing. Temperature-dependent modelling indicated that frozen storage slowed degradation, but FA loss at higher temperatures exceeded model predictions due to concurrent oxidative and hydrolytic reactions. Storage duration at 30% and 50% loss thresholds confirmed that only deep-freezing extended preservation for nearly one year, whereas partial freezing, refrigeration, and ambient storage substantially reduced stability. These findings demonstrate that common storage conditions alter FOG composition prior to analysis and establish a quantitative basis for standardised sample handling and more reliable wastewater research.","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":"68 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149173178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microphysiological organ-on-a-chip system for anti-doping research: long-term CYP activity characterization and S107 metabolism in a HepaRG™-based 3D liver model","authors":"Insa Peters,Nana Naumann,Christian Görgens,S. Guddat,Mario Thevis","doi":"10.1039/d6an00963h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d6an00963h","url":null,"abstract":"Identification of metabolic markers of prohibited and emerging performance-enhancing substances remains a key challenge in anti-doping analysis, where limitations of conventional in vitro models in resembling authentic physiological conditions exist. Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) systems combining 3D human liver-cell cultures with microfluidic perfusion offer a predictive alternative for human-like drug metabolism. In this study, a HepaRG™-based liver OoC model incorporating hepatic stellate cells was characterized over a three-week period with a focus on cytochrome P450 (CYP)-mediated metabolism. CYP activity, gene expression, and inducibility were assessed for major hepatic CYP isoforms, complemented by pharmacogenomic profiling. Metabolic performance was further evaluated using S107, a non-approved and prohibited doping agent, with metabolite formation being determined by liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS) in comparison with published in vitro data. The OoC system maintained stable viability and hepatic functionality throughout the culture period, demonstrating phase-I metabolic competence. Isoform-specific differences in mRNA expression and enzymatic activity highlighted complex regulatory effects within the microphysiological environment, while rifampicin responses confirmed preserved nuclear receptor-mediated inducibility across the system. Functional limitations were observed for CYP2D6 and CYP2B6, which showed absent or restricted activity despite detectable transcriptional signals. For S107, the model generated both phase-I and phase-II metabolites, consistent with literature data from microsomal incubation experiments. Metabolite formation was stable over the three-week period under dynamic perfusion conditions, demonstrating sustained biotransformation capacity. Overall, the HepaRG™ OoC system represents a physiologically relevant in vitro platform for long-term metabolism and demonstrates potential as a predictive tool for anti-doping applications and for elucidating metabolic pathways of emerging performance-enhancing substances.","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149152689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Analysing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with SERS by bubbling into colloidal nanoparticles.","authors":"Amy Colleran, Nigel Gotts, Stephanie Murray, Royston Goodacre","doi":"10.1039/d6an00673f","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6an00673f","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enables real-time analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other gaseous molecules using portable Raman devices, offering faster measurements compared to GC-MS. To facilitate this, numerous solid SERS substrates have been developed and applied across multiple fields. However, they often require complex fabrication due to poor adsorption of gases onto solid surfaces leading to high production costs and inconsistencies in sensitivity and reproducibility. In contrast, colloidal nanoparticles are less expensive to produce and established facile synthesis methods help their broader implementation. In this study a simple approach has been conceptualised whereby gaseous analytes are bubbled directly into colloidal nanoparticles. This was achieved by pumping air into a flask containing the volatile analyte, which in turn was bubbled into a vial containing colloidal nanoparticles and measured with a portable Raman spectrometer. Initially, 3-mercapto-hexanol (3MH) was successfully measured using this method. 3MH was chosen due to the method originally being developed to measure thiols associated to underarm odour. Subsequently, 3MH was used to optimize the air flow rate by testing at eight different flow rates. The results demonstrated that flow rate influenced the timing of analyte spectral appearance as seen by the rate of change in peak height at 634 cm<sup>-1</sup> for 3MH, with the most reproducible results observed at 50 mL min<sup>-1</sup>. The technique was further evaluated with two other analytes: 2-methyl-3-mercapto-pentanol (2M3MP) and indole. The latter needed the addition of an aggregating agent (NaCl) to the nanoparticles. These findings indicate that this approach offers a promising alternative for detecting gaseous analytes using colloidal nanoparticles.</p>","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":" ","pages":"5900-5910"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13479307/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148756739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evanescent field techniques for nano-biosensing.","authors":"Soumyadipta Chakraborty, Indrayani Patra, Soumen Mandal, Jayeta Banerjee, Puspendu Barik, Manik Pradhan","doi":"10.1039/d6an00845c","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6an00845c","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The relentless pursuit of rapid, ultrasensitive, and real-time analytical tools has positioned evanescent wave-based biosensors at the forefront of modern diagnostics. These platforms, which exploit the surface-confined electromagnetic field generated during total internal reflection, enable label-free, highly sensitive detection of biomolecular interactions. This review critically examines the recent advances in evanescent-wave-based analytical approaches for nanobiosensing, providing a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape and future perspectives. We delve into the predominant analytical platforms, including Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR), and various optical waveguide and fiber-optic configurations. A central focus is placed on the synergistic integration of nanomaterials, such as metallic nanoparticles, graphene and other 2D materials, and quantum dots, to enhance analytical performance through signal amplification and novel surface functionalities. Furthermore, we highlight current trends shaping the field's trajectory, including convergence with microfluidics to create Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) systems for point-of-care (POC) applications, the deployment of machine learning for advanced data interpretation, and the development of portable, smartphone-integrated readers. Finally, the review addresses the persistent analytical challenges, including matrix effects, nonspecific binding, and manufacturing scalability, and provides a forward-looking perspective on the emerging materials and technologies poised to overcome these hurdles and redefine the future of bioanalytical science.</p>","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":" ","pages":"5911-5951"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148838537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-13DOI: 10.1039/d6an00337k
Jiangmin Qing, Lingyu Zhao, Xiaojuan Yu, Rongbin Nie
{"title":"A cucurbit[7]uril/gold nanoparticle self-assembly mediated chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer immunoassay for insulin detection.","authors":"Jiangmin Qing, Lingyu Zhao, Xiaojuan Yu, Rongbin Nie","doi":"10.1039/d6an00337k","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6an00337k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As insulin is the core regulatory hormone maintaining blood glucose stability, its abnormal secretion is often associated with diseases such as diabetes. In order to break away from the dependence on the traditional insulin detection technology involving expensive instruments and complex operations, we present a cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7])/gold nanoparticle (AuNP) self-assembly mediated chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer immunoassay (CRETIA) for insulin detection. The AuNP@CB[7] self-assembly serves two critical roles: the biorecognition element for capturing insulin from complex samples <i>via</i> host-guest interaction and the catalyst for the chemiluminescent reaction due to the enzyme-like activity of AuNPs. Upon introducing the energy acceptor antibody (Ab)-graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, the presence of insulin leads to the formation of AuNP@CB[7]/insulin/Ab-GO nanosheet complexes, in which the AuNP and GO nanosheets are in close proximity, resulting in significant quenching of the chemiluminescence signal. Under optimized conditions, a satisfactory linear relationship was obtained in the range of 10-5000 pg mL<sup>-1</sup>, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.51 pg mL<sup>-1</sup>. The proposed CRETIA involves no use of natural enzyme or tedious washing and separation steps, thereby providing a robust tool for rapid detection of insulin.</p>","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":" ","pages":"6221-6229"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149078969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AnalystPub Date : 2026-10-13DOI: 10.1039/d6an00647g
Fang Wang, Tao Yuan, Chianru Tan, Lingxiang Zhu, Pengshu Zhang, Chenguang Zhang, Lai Wei, Shisheng Su, Huiping Hou, Sheng Wu, Yong Guo, Xuyan Chen
{"title":"Multiplex digital PCR for rapid quantitative detection and dynamic monitoring of respiratory pathogens in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.","authors":"Fang Wang, Tao Yuan, Chianru Tan, Lingxiang Zhu, Pengshu Zhang, Chenguang Zhang, Lai Wei, Shisheng Su, Huiping Hou, Sheng Wu, Yong Guo, Xuyan Chen","doi":"10.1039/d6an00647g","DOIUrl":"10.1039/d6an00647g","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) remain a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Rapid and comprehensive etiological diagnosis is critical yet challenging: existing approaches, from culture to multiplex PCR and mNGS, carry distinct limitations in one or more of turnaround time, sensitivity, cost, or quantitative resolution. We developed a 33-plex digital PCR (dPCR) assay for absolute quantification of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and atypical pathogens in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Systematic evaluation of five liquefaction protocols identified dithiothreitol (DTT) as the optimal universal pretreatment, ensuring balanced RNA and DNA recovery. The assay demonstrated reliable quantification from 10 to 10<sup>5</sup> copies per test for all 33 targets (<i>R</i><sup>2</sup> > 0.99), with 27 targets showing linearity across full range and 6 targets exhibiting linearity from 10 to 10<sup>4</sup> copies per test (10<sup>5</sup> as upper detection limit). The limit of detection was 5 copies per test for all targets. In 105 BALF samples, dPCR achieved a significantly higher positive rate than culture (96.19% <i>vs.</i> 83.81%, <i>p</i> < 0.05), particularly for polymicrobial infections (85.71% <i>vs.</i> 40.00%). Concordance with mNGS for primary pathogens was 86.96% (20/23) for 14 primary pathogens across 23 positive samples. The complete workflow from sample pre-treatment to results required only 2.5 hours. Serial BALF dPCR quantification of <i>P. aeruginosa</i> and <i>K. pneumoniae</i> in one severe LRTI case tracked pathogen loads in parallel with clinical course and antibiotic responses, preliminarily supporting the technical feasibility of dynamic monitoring. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a rapid 33-plex dPCR assay for comprehensive respiratory pathogen profiling in BALF, with potential for dynamic monitoring in critically ill patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":63,"journal":{"name":"Analyst","volume":" ","pages":"5890-5899"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148785533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}