Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Deployment and Retrieval of Mineral Samplers
Published on: January 20, 2026
Pill-Triggered Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework Mineralization for Field-Deployable Capture of Bacteria, Fungi, and
Md Shahabuddin Alam1, Emily E Osborn1, Nithish Agamendran1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, US.
Abstract:
Capturing and stabilizing microbes and viruses from complex samples typically requires filtration/ultracentrifugation, affinity reagents, or cold-chain transport. Here we show that a single aqueous Zn(II)/2-methylimidazole formulation maintaining a 1 × 80 metal-to-ligand molar ratio (1 mM Zn(OAc)2·2H2O and 80 mM 2-methylimidazole) rapidly mineralizes a Zn-methylimidazolate coating on diverse biological templates, causing them to coprecipitate for recovery by low-speed centrifugation. The coating is removed on demand using phosphate-containing, low pH solutions or growth media enabling revival of E. coli, S. aureus, and C. albicans following up to 14 days of ambient storage. For viruses, encapsulation reduces ambient infectivity losses (e.g., reovirus retains substantially higher titers than uncoated controls after extended storage). To eliminate solution preparation, we further introduce a solid "ZIF pill" (ZIP) that dissolves directly in samples to generate the 1 × 80 ratio in situ, delivering 3 mM Zn(OAc)2·2H2O and 240 mM 2-methylimidazole. The ZIP pill enables reproducible, on-demand encapsulation and recovery. Together, the 1 × 80 liquid formulation and ZIP tablets provide a scalable, field-deployable workflow for gentle capture and preservation of microbes and viruses for downstream culture and analysis.
