%A Sattar,Sadia %A Bennett,Nicholas J. %A Wen,Wesley X. %A Guthrie,Jenness M. %A Blackwell,Len F. %A Conway,James F. %A Rakonjac,Jasna %D 2015 %J Frontiers in Microbiology %C %F %G English %K phage display,filamentous phage,M13 phage,fd phage,f1 phage,dipstick,lateral flow,nanorod,fibronectin,Fibronectin-binding protein %Q %R 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00316 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2015-April-20 %9 Methods %+ Dr Jasna Rakonjac,Institute of Fundamental Sciences, Massey University,Palmerston North, New Zealand,j.rakonjac@massey.ac.nz %# %! Nanorods Derived from Ff Phage %* %< %T Ff-nano, short functionalized nanorods derived from Ff (f1, fd, or M13) filamentous bacteriophage %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00316 %V 6 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 1664-302X %X F-specific filamentous phage of Escherichia coli (Ff: f1, M13, or fd) are long thin filaments (860 nm × 6 nm). They have been a major workhorse in display technologies and bionanotechnology; however, some applications are limited by the high length-to-diameter ratio of Ff. Furthermore, use of functionalized Ff outside of laboratory containment is in part hampered by the fact that they are genetically modified viruses. We have now developed a system for production and purification of very short functionalized Ff-phage-derived nanorods, named Ff-nano, that are only 50 nm in length. In contrast to standard Ff-derived vectors that replicate in E. coli and contain antibiotic-resistance genes, Ff-nano are protein-DNA complexes that cannot replicate on their own and do not contain any coding sequences. These nanorods show an increased resistance to heating at 70C in 1% SDS in comparison to the full-length Ff phage of the same coat composition. We demonstrate that functionalized Ff-nano particles are suitable for application as detection particles in sensitive and quantitative “dipstick” lateral flow diagnostic assay for human plasma fibronectin.