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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Biosensor for Detection of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus Bacteria
Published on: May 8, 2013
Experimental use of a new surface acoustic wave sensor for the rapid identification of bacteria and yeasts
I A Casalinuovo1, D Pierro, E Bruno
1Division of Microbiology, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata' Rome, Italy. casalinuovo@med.uniroma2.it
Aims:
Use of an electronic nose (zNose(TM)) to discriminate between volatile organic molecules delivered during bacterial/fungal growth on agar and in broth media.
Methods And Results:
Cultures of bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli) and yeasts (two Candida albicans strains) were grown on agar and in broth media and incubated for 24 h at 37 degrees C. Headspace samples from microbial cultures were analysed by the zNose(TM), a fast gas chromatography-surface acoustic wave detector. Olfactory images of volatile production patterns were observed to be different for the various species tested after 24 h. Moreover, some strains (two K. pneumoniae, two C. albicans) did not show changes in volatile production patterns within our species.
Conclusions:
Our experiments demonstrate that the electronic nose system can recognize volatile production patterns of pathogens at species level.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Our results, although preliminary, promise exciting challenges for microbial diagnostics.
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Biosensors
Automated Microbial Diagnostics
Rapid Identification of Pathogens

