Bioanalytical Tools to Develop Rapid Diagnostics and Study Physiology

This work details the development of bioanalytical tools for use in rapid diagnostics (Chapters 2-4) and in the study of physiology (Chapters 5-6). This research harness the power of real-time, singlemolecule microfluidics to study loop-mediated isothermal amplification in urinary tract infections (Chapter 2), chlamydia (Chapter 3), and gonorrhea (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, non-reactive beads are designed and optimized to study the impact of polymers on murine gastrointestinal mucosa. Chapter 6 details the implementation of a mass spectrometry method to quantify bile acids and investigate their interaction with the microbiota in the murine gastro-intestinal tract.