A Resistance Based Biosensor That Utilizes Conductive Microfibers for Microbial Pathogen Detection

Shannon K. McGraw, Evangelyn Alocilja, Kris Senecal, Andre Senecal

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA.
Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA; Food Safety and Defense Team, US Army NSRDEC, Natick, USA.
Food Safety and Defense Team, US Army NSRDEC, Natick, USA.
Macromolecular Sciences and Engineering Team, US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), Natick, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/ojab.2012.13005                

Abstract

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is one of the top pathogens of interest for the development of rapid diagnostic systems for food and water samples. The objective of this research is to develop a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized for the biological capture and detection of E. coli O157:H7 inthe field. Using glutaraldehyde, pathogen specific antibodies are covalently attached to conductive microfiber membranes which are then blocked using a 5% bovine serum albumin solution. The functionalized membranes are then exposed to E. coli O157:H7 cells washed in Butterfield’s phosphate buffer and added to a phosphate-buffer electrolyte solution. When a voltage is applied to the system, the presence of the captured pathogen on the fiber surface results in an increase in resistance at the electrotextile electrode surface, indicating a positive result. In this study, the initial resistance of the membrane in the electrochemical system was established and found to range between 5.8 and 13 . The resistance of the system not associated with the electrotextile fibers was calculated to contribute to only 2.8% of the total system resistance, and found not to be significant. A proof of concept experiment was conducted and determined that the electrotextile electrode was able to differentiate between small changes in a solution’s conductivity associated with the presence of E. coli O157:H7 cells over a concentration range of log 0 - 9 CFU/mL.

Keywords

Electrotextile; Biosensor; Polypyrrole; Immunosensor; Resistance Based Detection

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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