Plasma nanotextured polymeric lab-on-a-chip for highly efficient bacteria capture and lysis

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Microfluidics
• Biosensing

Background:

• Foodborne pathogen analysis requires efficient sample preparation.
• Current methods can be time-consuming and complex.
• On-chip integration offers potential for rapid and sensitive detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate an integrated on-chip module for bacteria capture and thermal lysis.
• To evaluate the module's performance for food sample pathogen analysis, specifically Salmonella.
• To enhance antibody immobilization using plasma nanotexturing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a polymeric microfluidic chip with plasma nanotexturing.
• Covalent immobilization of anti-Salmonella antibodies onto the chip surface.
• Testing bacteria capture efficiency and selectivity for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and E. coli.
• On-chip thermal lysis of captured bacteria and comparison with off-chip methods.

Main Results:

• Plasma nanotexturing increased chip surface area and antibody binding capacity.
• 100% Salmonella capture efficiency achieved for concentrations below 10(5) cells/mL.
• Over 50% capture efficiency maintained at 10(7) cells/mL.
• Effective on-chip thermal lysis demonstrated from as few as 10 captured cells.
• Excellent selectivity (>1:300) observed in mixed bacterial samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed on-chip module enables efficient bacteria capture and lysis for pathogen analysis.
• Plasma nanotexturing and direct antibody immobilization enhance device performance.
• This integrated system shows promise for rapid and sensitive food safety testing.