Visual detection of bacterial DNA using activated paper stripe

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Rapid and accurate pathogen detection is crucial for bedside and on-site diagnostics.
• Filter paper offers advantages as a diagnostic tool due to its portability, high surface-area-to-volume ratio, and capillary action.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a functionalized cellulose filter paper system for immobilizing aminated DNA.
• To enable rapid and visible detection of bacterial DNA for on-site diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Cellulose filter paper surface was functionalized using glutaric anhydride, N-hydroxysuccinimide, and N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide.
• Aminated DNA probes were immobilized on the activated paper for detecting synthetic oligonucleotides and bacterial genomic DNA.
• Magnetic beads were incorporated to produce a visible brown signal for qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Main Results:

• Successful immobilization of aminated DNA on functionalized filter paper.
• Detection of synthetic oligonucleotides and bacterial DNA (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni) within 1-5 minutes.
• Achieved detection limits of 0.5 pmol for synthetic oligonucleotides and 5-10 ng for bacterial DNA per assay.

Conclusions:

• The developed filter paper system provides a stable, repeatable, and visually detectable method for on-site bacterial DNA diagnosis.
• This approach offers a promising low-equipment diagnostic tool for infectious disease identification.