Application of atomic force microscopy on rapid determination of microorganisms for food safety

Rapid detection and quantification of microorganisms is important for food quality, safety, and security. In this field, nanotechnology appears to be promising in its ability to characterize an individual microorganism and detect heterogeneous distribution of microbes in food samples. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM), a nanotechnology tool, was used to investigate Escherichia coli (E. coli) qualitatively and quantitatively. E. coli strains B and K12 were used as surrogates to represent pathogenic strains, such as E. coli O157: H7. The results from AFM were compared with those from scanning/transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM). The qualitative determination was obtained using morphology and characteristic parameters from AFM images, and the quantitative determination was obtained by calculating the microorganisms in AFM images. The results show that AFM provides a new approach for rapid determination of microorganisms for food safety.