NanoSight

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University of Leicester Uses NanoSight to Characterize Marine Viruses and Bacteriophages

Salisbury, UK, 8th June 2010: The Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Leicester is using the NanoSight nanoparticle characterization system to count bacteriophage and marine viruses.

Dr. Martha Clokie is a lecturer in microbiology. Her interests are focussed on the ecology and molecular biology of bacteriophages and their relationship with bacterial hosts; ranging from bacterial pathogens to environmentally important cyanobacteria; exploiting bacteriophages and phage-derived products as an alternative to treating antibiotic resistant bacterial infections.

Dr. Clokie has been using the NanoSight system to study cyanobacteria and their viruses which involves the accurate enumeration of viral particles. Prior to the use of the NanoSight system, Dr. Clokie would use time-consuming plaque assays to count viruses, this involves relatively large volumes of cyanobacterial culture and takes up to four weeks to obtain results. Now using NanoSight’s unique nanoparticle tracking analysis, she is able to produce data in minutes and with no culturing required. Data from the NanoSight appears to correlate well with data from conventional plaque assays. With the typical viruses in the 100-300nm range and marine samples already being in the concentration range of 106 - 107 parts/ml, this is utilizing the sweet spot of the NanoSight technology which tracks and counts light scattered particle by particle.

Of her results to date, Dr. Clokie says it looks to provide a very promising method with significant ease of use, with time-saving advantages. “Being able to visualise the sample without dilution gives me confidence in the results. The NanoSight has also shown advantages over flow cytometry where signal to noise issues can sometimes be a problem for us. This speed of data collection will allow me to probe far more data than I could do otherwise and should really allow the cyanobacterial/phage dynamic to be probed.”

To learn more about nanoparticle characterisation using Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis, NTA, please visit www.nanosight.com and register for the latest issue of NanoTrail, the company’s electronic newsletter.

The University of Leicester's Dr Martha Clokie with her NanoSight LM10 System

About NanoSight
NanoSight Ltd, of Amesbury, UK, is the world leading provider of instruments for the optical detection and real time analysis of sub-micron particles. The Company supplies unique instruments for nanoparticle analysis in the sub-micron region that have specific application in virus particle detection and counting. These instruments go far beyond existing light scattering techniques in characterizing polydispersed systems. Founded in 2004, the company currently has approaching 200 systems in service worldwide, having begun commercial sales in 2006.

The Company’s proprietary knowledge and expertise has enabled the delivery of technologies to blue chip companies and universities for direct visualization of individual nanoscale particles in suspension from which independent quantitative estimation of particle size, size distribution and concentration are immediately obtained. The Company has recently launched additions to its advanced Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) software that build on the ground-breaking work of NanoSight’s LM20 and LM10 systems.

The Company has a growing base of users worldwide, including BASF, GlaxoSmithKline, 3M Corp, BP, ICI, Roche & Unilever and many universities. For more information, visit NanoSight's website.

For further information
Please contact NanoSight direct or their marketing agency, NetDyaLog Limited: