Development of a magnetic nanoparticles microarray for simultaneous and simple detection of foodborne pathogens

Foodborne diseases are a widespread and growing public health problem affecting both developed and developing countries, microbiologically contaminated food and water are the major causes of diarrhoeal diseases. Methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and microarrays are rapid and sensitive enough to detect very small quantities of microorganisms, however, the requirement for expensive equipments limits their application. In the present paper, we describe a method based on multiplex PCR and magnetic nanoparticles labelling for simultaneous detection of four major foodborne pathogens, including Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica, Vibrio cholera and Campylobacter jejuni. The process utilizes an oligonucleotide array onto which 5' biotinylated single strand PCR products were hybridized and visualized with streptavidin-coated magnetic nanoparticles (SA-MNPs), the signal from which could be detected by the naked eye, microscope or CCD camera. By employing SA-MNPs as visible labels, the microarray unambiguously distinguished all 4 pathogens with detection sensitivity up to 316 CFU/mL. Due to its high sensitivity, specificity and simple detection procedure, the magnetic bead assay provides a powerful tool for the detection and identification of foodborne pathogens in a modestly equipped laboratory.