{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,11]],"date-time":"2026-10-11T03:12:45Z","timestamp":1791688365910,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,7]],"date-time":"2020-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1602028800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002724","name":"American University of Sharjah","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BCE"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BCE"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002724","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002724","name":"American University of Sharjah","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BCE"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BCE"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002724","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Acanthamoeba are widely distributed in the environment and are known to cause blinding keratitis and brain infections with greater than 90% mortality rate. Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a highly sensitive and promising technique in Acanthamoeba detection. Remarkably, the rate of heating\u2013cooling and convective heat transfer of the PCR tube is limited by low thermal conductivity of the reagents mixture. The addition of nanoparticles to the reaction has been an interesting approach that could augment the thermal conductivity of the mixture and subsequently enhance heat transfer through the PCR tube. Here, we have developed hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) nanoparticle-based PCR assay for the rapid detection of Acanthamoeba to amplify DNA from low amoeba cell density. As low as 1 \u00d7 10\u22124 wt % was determined as the optimum concentration of hBN nanoparticles, which increased Acanthamoeba DNA yield up to ~16%. Further, it was able to reduce PCR temperature that led to a ~2.0-fold increase in Acanthamoeba DNA yield at an improved PCR specificity at 46.2 \u00b0C low annealing temperature. hBN nanoparticles further reduced standard PCR step time by 10 min and cycles by eight; thus, enhancing Acanthamoeba detection rapidly. Enhancement of Acanthamoeba PCR DNA yield is possibly due to the high adsorption affinity of hBN nanoparticles to purine (Guanine\u2014G) due to the higher thermal conductivity achieved in the PCR mixture due to the addition of hBN. Although further research is needed to demonstrate these findings in clinical application, we propose that the interfacial layers, Brownian motion, and percolation network contribute to the enhanced thermal conductivity effect.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens9100824","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,8]],"date-time":"2020-10-08T08:52:41Z","timestamp":1602147161000},"page":"824","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["hBN Nanoparticle-Assisted Rapid Thermal Cycling for the Detection of Acanthamoeba"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5023-2174","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdul Khaliq","family":"Rasheed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of New Energy Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University Malaysia Campus, Bandar Sunsuria, Sepang 43900, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9646-6208","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruqaiyyah","family":"Siddiqui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Salma Mohammed Kabir","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shobana","family":"Gabriel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway 47500, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5321-9407","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Zayan","family":"Jalal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Gombak 53100, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8111-6926","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Akbar","family":"John","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Oceanography and Maritime Studies, Kulliyyah of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan 25200, Malaysia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7667-8553","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Naveed Ahmed","family":"Khan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020, July 30). 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