Whole-Cell Molecularly Imprinted Fluorescent Photonic Microsphere Microarray for High-Throughput Detection of...

Area of Science:

• * Materials Science and Engineering
• * Biosensing and Diagnostics
• * Food Safety and Public Health

Background:

• * Accurate and rapid detection of multiple foodborne pathogens remains a significant challenge in public health surveillance.
• * Existing methods often require complex procedures, enrichment, or amplification, limiting throughput and increasing costs.
• * Development of sensitive, specific, and cost-effective diagnostic platforms is crucial for food safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To develop a whole-cell imprinted microarray platform utilizing three-dimensional photonic microspheres for simultaneous detection of foodborne pathogens.
• * To functionalize photonic microspheres with specific monomers for targeted capture and fluorescence-based quantification of bacteria.
• * To evaluate the performance of the developed microarray in terms of detection range, sensitivity, and specificity.

Main Methods:

• * Fabrication of a microarray using 3D photonic microspheres functionalized with 3-formylphenylboric acid and fluorescein isothiocyanate.
• * Incubation of the functionalized microsphere microarray with multiplex foodborne pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli O157:H7).
• * Quantification of captured bacteria based on fluorescence intensity, correlating signal strength with pathogen concentration.

Main Results:

• * The photonic microsphere microarray demonstrated specific capture of target pathogenic bacteria.
• * Wide linear detection ranges were achieved: 10 to 10⁹ CFU/mL for Salmonella, 10² to 10⁶ CFU/mL for Shigella, and 10 to 10⁷ CFU/mL for E. coli O157:H7.
• * Low limits of detection were obtained: 3 CFU/mL for Salmonella, 20 CFU/mL for Shigella, and 1 CFU/mL for E. coli O157:H7.

Conclusions:

• * The developed whole-cell imprinted photonic microsphere microarray offers a promising approach for rapid, sensitive, and high-throughput multiplex pathogen detection.
• * The system eliminates the need for molecular probes, enrichment, or amplification, simplifying the detection process.
• * This technology holds significant potential for improving food safety and public health monitoring through cost-effective and efficient pathogen surveillance.