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Updated: Nov 8, 2025
Development of an Electrochemical DNA Biosensor to Detect a Foodborne Pathogen
Published on: June 3, 2018
Specific detection of Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula using ssDNA aptamer
Hye Ri Kim1, Myunghee Kim2, Byoung Chan Kim1
1Center for Environment, Health and Welfare Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea. bchankim@kist.re.kr and Division of Energy and Environment Technology, KIST School, University of Science and Technology (UST), Hwarangno 14-gil 5, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Researchers developed a faster method to detect Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii), a dangerous foodborne pathogen. New aptamers, isolated using centrifugation-based partitioning, efficiently detect C. sakazakii in powdered infant formula.
Area of Science:
- Food Microbiology
- Biotechnology
- Molecular Diagnostics
Background:
- Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is a foodborne pathogen linked to severe infant illnesses like meningitis and sepsis.
- Contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) is a primary source of C. sakazakii infection.
- Rapid and accurate detection of C. sakazakii is crucial for ensuring food safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize C. sakazakii-specific aptamers using a novel centrifugation-based partitioning method (CBPM).
- To evaluate the efficiency and specificity of the isolated aptamers for detecting C. sakazakii in PIF.
- To establish a rapid detection method for C. sakazakii in food products.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of C. sakazakii-specific aptamers via centrifugation-based partitioning (CBPM), an alternative to SELEX.
- Characterization of aptamer affinity and specificity using dissociation constants (Kd).
- Validation of aptamer performance in detecting C. sakazakii in powdered infant formula (PIF).
Main Results:
- Two aptamers, SC25 and SC45, were successfully isolated with high affinity and specificity for C. sakazakii (Kd: 34 and 66 nM).
- The SC25 aptamer demonstrated efficient detection of C. sakazakii in PIF with minimal cross-reactivity.
- CBPM significantly reduced the time required for aptamer selection compared to traditional methods.
Conclusions:
- The isolated aptamers, particularly SC25, are effective tools for detecting C. sakazakii in PIF.
- The CBPM offers a faster and efficient approach for aptamer isolation for foodborne pathogen detection.
- This aptamer-based method has the potential to reduce overall testing time for C. sakazakii detection.
Abstract:
Cronobacter sakazakii (C. sakazakii) is a foodborne pathogen associated with bacterial meningitis, sepsis, and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature and immuno-compromised infants. C. sakazakii is typically acquired by ingesting contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF). The growing demand for a safe food supply requires rapid detection of foodborne pathogens for delivering safe-to-consume food to consumers. In the present study, we isolated C. sakazakii-specific aptamers using a centrifugation-based partitioning method (CBPM) instead of systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) process. Unlike SELEX, the CBPM reduces the evolution-loop time to obtain enriched probes, allowing the isolation of target-specific aptamers in a shorter time. The two aptamers (SC25 and SC45) isolated using the CBPM showed high affinity and specificity for C. sakazakii (Kd: 34 and 66 nM). Among the two aptamers, SC25 aptamer detected efficiently C. sakazakii in PIF with less cross-reactivity. Our results indicate that the isolated aptamers could be used for detecting C. sakazakii in PIF and reducing the overall testing time compared with the conventional C. sakazakii detection method.
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