Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection limit of millimeter-sized PZT cantilever sensors is 700 cells/mL.

A composite self-excited millimeter-sized lead zirconate titanate (PZT) glass cantilever (2 mm x 1.8 mm; sensing area of 6 mm2) was fabricated for the detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. The fundamental and second mode resonance in air was 10.95 +/- 0.05 kHz and 43.45 +/- 0.05 kHz, respectively. Affinity purified monoclonal antibody (anti-E. coli O157:H7) specific to the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 was immobilized at the cantilever glass tip, and then immersed in liquid containing the pathogen (70 to 7 x 10(7) cells/mL). The resonant frequency showed a reduction and reached a steady state shift of 0 +/- 5, 46 +/- 5, 260 +/- 5, and 1010 +/- 5 Hz corresponding to 0, 700, 7000, and 7 x 10(7) cells/mL. From the experiments conducted, the detection limit of the sensor was 700 cells/mL.     

Rapid Detection of Escherichia Coliform Using A Series Electrode Piezoelectric Crystal Sensor

Abstract

A series electrode piezoelectric crystal sensor was used to determine Escherichia coliform (E. coli.). This method is simple and rapid, and requires only a single sample dilution. E. coli. in the range of 10 - 10⁶ cells per ml can be estimated by this method. The procedure is a frequency detection time (FDT) method. The factors which affect the determination are discussed. Thirty samples in pure culture were tested by this method and the results fell within the 95% confidence limits of the standard plate count values. A correlation coefficient of 0.93 was obtained between the frequency detection time and logarithm of initial bacterial concentration. This corresponds to the criteria used to evaluate E. coli. with the added advantage of single dilution and more rapid results.     

Simultaneous determination of trace amounts of cadmium, nickel and cobalt in water samples by adsorptive voltammetry using ammonium 2-amino-cyclopentene dithiocarboxylate as a chelating agent

This paper reports the use of an adsorptive voltammetric technique for the simultaneous detection of Cd(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) using ammonium 2-amino-cyclopente dithiocarboxylate as a selective complexing agent. Scans containing three resolved peaks corresponding to these metals were obtained in synthetic and real samples. The reduction current peaks of the metals that were distinctly separated by 200 mV or more, allowing their determination over a wide range of concentrations. These metals can be quantified at concentrations above 1.33x10(-8) mol dm(-3) Cd(II), 8.51x10(-9) mol dm(-3) Ni(II) and 3.39x10(-10) mol dm(-3) Co(II). The influence of pH, ligand concentration, scan rate, accumulations time and applied potential was investigated. The R.S.D. at a concentration level of 1.78x10(-7) mol dm(-3) of Cd(II), 3.40x10(-7) mol dm(-3) and Ni(II) and 1.7x10(-9) mol dm(-3) of Co(II) was 2.5% for Cd(II), 2.7% for Ni(II) and 3.3% for Co(II). The method was applied to various water samples.     

Nonleaching antibacterial glass surfaces via "Grafting Onto": the effect of the number of quaternary ammonium groups on biocidal activity

Antimicrobial surfaces were prepared using the "grafting onto" technique. Well-defined block copolymers containing poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and poly(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate) segments (PDMAEMA/PTMSPMA) and corresponding random copolymers were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), followed by covalent attachment to a glass surface through reaction of the trimethoxysilyl groups with surface silanol groups. The density of quaternary ammonium (QA) groups available to bind small molecules in solution increased with polymer solution concentration and immobilization time. For the PDMAEMA 97- b-PTMSPMA xdiblock copolymers with a fixed length of PDMAEMA segment (degree of polymerization (DP) = 97) and varied lengths of PTMSPMA segments, maximal available surface charge was observed when the ratio of DP PDMAEMA to DP PTMSPMA was 5:1. The tertiary amino groups in immobilized PDMAEMA segments were reacted with ethyl bromide to form QA groups. Alternatively, block copolymers with prequaternized PDMAEMA segments were attached to surfaces. Biocidal activity of the surfaces with grafted polymers versus Escherichia coli ( E. coli) increased with the density of available QA units on the surface. The number of bacteria killed by the surface increased from 0.06 x 10(5) units/cm2 to 0.6 x 10(5) units/cm2, when the density of surface QA increased from 1.0 x 10(14) unit/cm2 to 6.0 x 10(14) unit/cm2. The killing efficiency of QA on all surfaces was similar with approximately 1 x 10(10) units of QA needed to kill one bacterium. The AFM analysis indicated that grafting onto the surface resulted in small patches of highly concentrated polymer. These patches appear to increase the killing efficiency as compared to surfaces prepared by grafting onto with the same average polymer density but with a uniform distribution.     

Rapid and ultrasensitive determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine derivatizated with 5-(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-ylamino) fluorescein by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

This paper presents a micellar electrokinetic chromatography method with laser-induced fluorescence detection to analyze ephedrine (E) and pseudoephedrine (PE) after derivatizated with 5-(4,6-dichloro-s-triazin-2-ylamino) fluorescein. The optimum derivatization conditions were: 0.05 M Na2CO(3/NaHCO3 (pH 9.5), reaction time 30 min at 45 degrees C, molar ratio of DTAF to E and PE mixture 20:1. The baseline separation was achieved within 8 min with running buffer composed of 20 mM borate+20 mM SDS+15% acetonitrile (v/v) (adjusted pH 9.8), and applied voltage of 20 kV. Good linearity relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9906 for E and 0.9941 for PE) between the peak heights and concentration of the analytes were obtained (2.5-50 ngmL(-1)). The detection limits for E and PE were 3.85 x 10(-4) and 1.41 x 10(-4)ngmL(-1), respectively, which indicated that the proposed method surpassed other chromatographic alternatives in terms of limit of detection by at least 10(3) folds. The method was applied to the analysis of the two alkaloids in ephedra herb plants and its preparations with recoveries in the range of 89.6-107.0%.     

Effect of static magnetic field on growth of Escherichia coli and relative response model of series piezoelectric quartz crystal

The effect of magnetic field on the growth of bacteria was studied with the series piezoelectric quartz crystal (SPQC) sensing technique. The growth situations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the absence and presence of different intensities of static magnetic fields were examined and analyzed. The results showed that the growth of E. coli was inhibited due to the presence of magnetic fields. By fitting frequency shift (deltaD) versus time curves according to the frequency shift response equation of SPQC, the relationships between three kinetic growth parameters, i.e., the asymptote A, the maximum specific growth rate mu(m) and lag time lambda, and magnetic field intensity were established. Based on these results, a new response model containing the magnetic field intensity was derived as: delta(f) = 167.7 (7.25 - 7.11B)/[1 + exp[4 x 2.46e(-3.97B)/(7.25 -7.1 IB)] x (4.42 + 16.46B - t) + 2]] The kinetic parameters of bacterial growth obtained from this model are close to those obtained from the logistics popular growth model, in which the concentration of the bacteria was determined by the traditional pour plate count method.     

The detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum sample based on a wireless magnetoelastic-sensing device

This paper presents a real-time detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. TB) using a wireless magnetoelastic sensor. The sensor is fabricated by coating a magnetoelastic ribbon (Metglas 2826MB) with a polyurethane protecting film. M. TB consumes the nutrients of a liquid culture medium in growing and reproducing process, which results in properties changes (viscosity, density, elasticity, ion concentration, etc.) of the culture medium, and consequently changes in the resonance frequency of the magnetoelastic sensor. Using the described technique M. TB is quantified and sensor response is proportional to logarithmic values of the M. TB concentration from 10(4) to 10(9)cells ml(-1), with a detection limit of 10(4)cells ml(-1) at a noise level of approximately 10 Hz. The sensor can be used effectively for monitoring the bacterial growth and good results were obtained when used in sputum sample. The drug-resistance of isoniazid (INH) and rifampin (RFP) on M. TB growth in culture medium was evaluated based on this proposed method. The wireless nature of the presented device facilitates the aseptic operations.     

Detection of Escherichia coli using immunomagnetic separation and bacteriophage amplification coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The application of whole cell analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) has emerged as a valuable tool for rapidly identifying/detecting bacteria. This technique requires minimal sample preparation and is simple to perform, but is generally limited to purified samples of bacteria at concentrations greater than 1.0 x 10(6) cells/mL. In this paper, we describe a bacterial detection method that integrates immunomagnetic separation with bacteriophage amplification prior to MALDI-MS analysis. The developed method consists of three main stages: (1) isolation of a target bacterium by immunomagnetic separation; (2) infection of the immuno-captured bacterium with a lytic bacteriophage; and (3) assay of infected medium for bacteriophage progeny using MALDI-MS to produce a molecular weight signal for the virus capsid protein. With this technique, the presence of Escherichia coli in broth was determined in less then 2 h total analysis time at a concentration of approximately 5.0 x 10(4) cells/mL.     

纳米金标记抗体增强SPR检测大肠杆菌O157∶H7

将金纳米粒子(AuNPs)标记的大肠杆菌O157∶H7(E.coli O157∶H7)的多克隆抗体(PAb)作为二抗,采用氨基偶联法将PAb固定在传感器表面作为一抗,通过三明治方法用双通道表面等离子体子共振(SPR)传感器对E.coli O157∶H7进行检测,并与SPR直接法检测进行了比较.结果表明,直接法的检出限为103cfu/mL,线性范围为103～109cfu/mL;AuNPs增强三明治法的检出限为10 cfu/mL,线性范围为10～1010cfu/mL,灵敏度比直接法提高了100倍,且具有更宽的检测范围.本方法不仅检测时间短,而且具有良好的选择性和重现性.     

Analysis of quinolizidine alkaloids in Sophora flavescens Ait. by capillary electrophoresis with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium (II)-based electrochemiluminescence detection

A capillary electrophoresis method coupled with electrochemiluminescence detection for the analysis of quinolizidine alkaloids was established, especially, oxymatrine (OMT) which could not be measured by previous electrochemiluminescence methods was detected sensitively herein. Complete separation of sophoridine (SR), matrine (MT) and OMT was achieved within 13 min using a background electrolyte of 50mM phosphate buffer at pH 8.4 and a separation voltage of 15 kV. The calibration curves showed a linear range from 2.8 x 10(-8) to 4.4 x 10(-7) M for SR, 2.7 x 10(-8) to 4.4 x 10(-7) M for MT, and 2.5 x 10(-7) to 4.0 x 10(-6)M for OMT, respectively. The relative standard derivations for all analytes were below 3.1%. Good linear relationships were showed with correlation coefficients for all analytes exceeded 0.987. The detection limits were 1.0 nM for SR and MT, and 40 nM for OMT under the optimal conditions, respectively. The developed method was nearly harmless to the human and environment.     

Double interdigitated array microelectrode-based impedance biosensor for detection of viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 in growth medium

Double interdigitated array microelectrodes (IAM)-based flow cell was developed for an impedance biosensor to detect viable Escherichia coli O157:H7 cells after enrichment in a growth medium. This study was aimed at the design of a simple flow cell with embedded IAM which does not require complex microfabrication techniques and can be used repeatedly with a simple assembly/disassembly step. The flow cell was also unique in having two IAM chips on both top and bottom surfaces of the flow cell, which enhances the sensitivity of the impedance measurement. E. coli O157:H7 cells were grown in a low conductivity yeast-peptone-lactose-TMAO (YPLT) medium outside the flow cell. After bacterial growth, impedance was measured inside the flow cell. Equivalent circuit analysis indicated that the impedance change caused by bacterial growth was due to double layer capacitance and bulk medium resistance. Both parameters were a function of ionic concentration in the medium, which increased during bacterial growth due to the conversion of weakly charged substances present in the medium into highly charged ions. The impedance biosensor successfully detected E. coli O157:H7 in a range from 8.0 to 8.2x10(8)CFUmL(-1) after an enrichment growth of 14.7 and 0.8h, respectively. A logarithmic linear relationship between detection time (T(D)) in h and initial cell concentration (N(0)) in CFUmL(-1) was T(D)=-1.73logN(0)+14.62, with R(2)=0.93. Double IAM-based flow cell was more sensitive than single IAM-based flow cell in the detection of E. coli O157:H7 with 37-61% more impedance change for the frequency from 10Hz to 1MHz. The double IAM-based flow cell can be used to design a simple impedance biosensor for the sensitive detection of bacterial growth and their metabolites.     

The enhanced electrogenerated chemiluminescence of Ru(bpy)3(2+) by glutathione on a glassy carbon electrode modified with some porphine compounds

It has been found that the electrochemical activity of glutathione was increased greatly at the glassy carbon electrodes modified with 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphine ruthenium(II) carbenyl (RuTPP), meso-tetraphenylporphine copper(II) complex (CuTTP) and hemin. It has been also found that glutathione would enhance the electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy)3(2+) at a hemin glassy carbon electrode; the enhanced ECL intensity was linear with the concentration of glutathione in the range of 1 x 10(-7)-1 x 10(-4) mol l-1, based on which method for determination of glutathione has been developed. The detection limit of glutathione was 2 x 10(-8) mol l-1, and the relative standard deviation for 1 x 10(-6) mol l-1 glutathione was 2.7%. The mechanism for this ECL system has been proposed.     

An anti E. coli O157:H7 antibody-immobilized microcantilever for the detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli).

A silicon microcantilever sensor was developed for the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The microcantilever was modified by anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibodies on the silicon surface of the cantilever. When the aquaria E. coli O157:H7 positive sample is injected into the fluid cell where the microcantilever is held, the microcantilever bends upon the recognition of the E. coli O157:H7 antigen by the antibodies on the surface of the microcantilever. A negative control sample that does not contain E. coli O157:H7 antigen did not cause any bending of the microcantilever. The detection limit of the sensor was 1 x 10(6) cfu/mL when the assay time was < 2 h.     

Development, validation, and standardization of polymerase chain reaction-based detection of E. coli O157

A diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assay was developed for the detection of E. coli O157 as the first part of a multicenter validation and standardization project. The assay is based on amplification of sequences of the rfbE O157 gene and includes an internal amplification control. The selectivity of the assay was evaluated against 155 strains, including 32 E. coli O157, 38 E. coli non-O157, and 85 non-E. coli. It was shown to be highly inclusive (100%) and exclusive (100%). The assay has a 100% detection probability of approximately 2 x 10(3) cells per reaction.     

Quantum dot enabled detection of Escherichia coli using a cell-phone

We report a cell-phone based Escherichia coli (E. coli) detection platform for screening of liquid samples. In this compact and cost-effective design attached to a cell-phone, we utilize anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibody functionalized glass capillaries as solid substrates to perform a quantum dot based sandwich assay for specific detection of E. coli O157:H7 in liquid samples. Using battery-powered inexpensive light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) we excite/pump these labelled E. coli particles captured on the capillary surface, where the emission from the quantum dots is then imaged using the cell-phone camera unit through an additional lens that is inserted between the capillary and the cell-phone. By quantifying the fluorescent light emission from each capillary tube, the concentration of E. coli in the sample is determined. We experimentally confirmed the detection limit of this cell-phone based fluorescent imaging and sensing platform as ～5 to 10 cfu mL(-1) in buffer solution. We also tested the specificity of this E. coli detection platform by spiking samples with different species (e.g., Salmonella) to confirm that non-specific binding/detection is negligible. We further demonstrated the proof-of-concept of our approach in a complex food matrix, e.g., fat-free milk, where a similar detection limit of ～5 to 10 cfu mL(-1) was achieved despite challenges associated with the density of proteins that exist in milk. Our results reveal the promising potential of this cell-phone enabled field-portable and cost-effective E. coli detection platform for e.g., screening of water and food samples even in resource limited environments. The presented platform can also be applicable to other pathogens of interest through the use of different antibodies.     

Impedance analysis of an electrode-separated piezoelectric sensor as a surface monitoring technique for surfactant adsorption on quartz surface

This paper describes the measurement of the kinetics of adsorption of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), an anionic surfactant, onto a quartz surface with a pre-adsorbed layer of Ca2+ as an ion bridge, using an electrode-separated piezoelectric sensor (ESPS). An impedance analysis method was employed to characterize the responses of the ESPS. The impedance and frequency parameters of the ESPS were examined as functions of the conductivity, permittivity, viscosity and density of the liquid. The adsorption process of SDS onto the quartz surface resulted in an increase in both the mass and energy dissipation of the oscillating quartz crystal. The adsorption densities could be estimated by the ESPS method after taking into consideration the effects of surface viscosity and roughness. The adsorption and desorption rate constants of SDS onto the quartz surface were calculated as ka = (88.1 +/- 0.26) mol(-1) L s(-1) and kd = (4.92 +/- 0.53) x 10(-3) s(-1), respectively, based on the Langmuir model. ESPS was shown to be a powerful means of examining anionic surfactant adsorption to the solid/liquid interface.     

SERS-based sandwich immunoassay using antibody coated magnetic nanoparticles for Escherichia coli enumeration

A method combining immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was developed to enumerate Escherichia coli (E. coli). Gold-coated magnetic spherical nanoparticles were prepared by immobilizing biotin-labeled anti-E. coli antibodies onto avidin-coated magnetic nanoparticles and used in the separation and concentration of the E. coli cells. Raman labels have been constructed using rod shaped gold nanoparticles coated with 5,5-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and subsequently with a molecular recognizer. Then DTNB-labeled gold nanorods were interacted with gold-coated magnetic spherical nanoparticle-antibody-E. coli complex. The capture efficiency and calibration graphs were obtained and examined in different E. coli concentrations (10(1)-10(7) cfu mL(-1)). The correlation between the concentration of bacteria and SERS signal was found to be linear within the range of 10(1)-10(4) cfu mL(-1) (R(2) = 0.992). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values of the developed method were found to be 8 and 24 cfu mL(-1), respectively. The selectivity of the developed immunoassay was examined with Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter dissolvens, and Salmonella enteriditis which did not produce any significant response. The ability of the immunoassay to detect E. coli in real water samples was also investigated and the results were compared with the experimental results from plate-counting methods. There was no significant difference between the methods that were compared (p > 0.05). This method is rapid and sensitive to target organisms with a total analysis time of less than 70 min.     

Attomole sensitivity for unlabeled proteins and polypeptides with on-chip capillary electrophoresis and universal detection by interferometric backscatter

A universal detector based on backscatter interferometry has been developed to perform nanoliter volume refractive index measurements for on-chip sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gel based (polyethylene oxide gel) separations and quantification label-free proteins. The on-chip interferometric backscatter detector (OCIBD) system consists of a simple, folded optical train based on the interaction of a laser beam with an etched channel in the shape of half cylinder in a fused-silica plate. The backscattered light from the channel takes on the form of a high-contrast interference pattern that contains information related to the bulk properties of the fluid located within the probe or detection volume of 2.32 x 10(-9) L. Depending on capillary electrophoresis (CE) injection method, the positional changes of the interference pattern extrema (fringes) allow for the quantification of unlabeled proteins at levels ranging from 11 to 310 amol (2.7 x 10(-8)mol/L) with a linear dynamic range of 2.5 decades (egg albumin). Using OCIBD microchannel-based SDS capillary gel electrophoresis (SDS/CGE), separation and detection of five label-free proteins was achieved in less than 100 seconds with detection limits ranging from 0.95 pg (1.1 x 10(-16)mol or 2.5 x 10(-7)mol/L) of calmodulin to 7.0 pg (1.0 x 10(-16)mol or 2.4 x 10(-7)mol/L) for bovine serum albumin (BSA) without signal filtering or active thermal control. This development shows that a universal detector based on backscatter interferometry can be used effectively for on-chip label-free solute analysis.     

基于MnO2/石墨烯纳米材料的表面辅助激光解吸电离质谱在内毒素快速鉴定中的应用

利用大肠埃希菌（E.coli O111：B4）中提取精制的内毒素（Control standard endotoxin,CSE）为研究对象,以MnO₂/石墨烯（MnO₂/G）纳米复合材料为基质,建立了一种基于MnO₂/G纳米材料的表面辅助激光解吸电离质谱（Surface-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry,SALDI-MS）的内毒素检测新方法.利用SALDI-MS方法可实现对不同注射液和饮用水中内毒素的快速鉴定与定量分析.与传统的鲎试剂检测方法相比,基于MnO₂/G纳米复合材料的SALDI-MS方法具有操作简便、灵敏度高、分辨率高、检测速度快、高通量和耐盐性好等优点,有望应用于更多食品和药品中细菌内毒素的高通量快速筛查.     

Immobilization of Escherichia coli for detection of phage T4 using surface plasmon resonance

Phage contamination is a very serious and unavoidable problem in modern fermentation industry.It is necessary to develop sensitive and rapid phage detection methods for the early detection of phage contamination.In the present work,a real-time,rapid,specific and quantitative phage T4 detection method based on surface plasmon resonance(SPR) technique has been introduced.Escherichia coli was immobilized onto the preformed MPA self-assembled monolayer(SAM) through the widely used EDC/NHS cross-linking reaction as the recognition element.The bacteria immobilization was verified efficiently through the electrochemical measurements and fluorescence microscopy observations.The specific adsorption was much stronger than the non-specific adsorption of phage T4 binding to the biosensor surface modified by E.coli,and the latter could be neglected.The detection sensitivity reached 1×10 7 PFU/mL within 10 min.Within the experimental phage concentrations,the linear correlation between the SPR response and the phage concentration was good.The results suggest that the SPR technique is a potentially powerful tool for the phage or other virus detections,as a label-free,real-time,and rapid method.