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Impedimetric detection of bacteria by using a microfluidic chip and silver nanoparticle based signal enhancement

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Abstract

The authors describe a method that can significantly improve the performance of impedimetric detection of bacteria. A multifunctional microfluidic chip was designed consisting of interdigitated microelectrodes and a micro-mixing zone with a Tesla structure. This maximizes the coating of bacterial surfaces with nanoparticles and results in improved impedimetric detection. The method was applied to the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli). Silver enhancement was accomplished by coating E.coli with the cationic polymer diallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) to form positively charged E. coli/PDDA complexes. Then, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were added, and the resulting E. coli/PDDA/AuNPs complexes were collected at interdigitated electrodes via positive dielectrophoresis (pDEP). A silver adduct was then formed on the E. coli/PDDA/AuNP complexes by using silver enhancement solutions and by using the AuNPs as catalysts. The combination of pDEP based capture and of using silver adducts reduces impedance by increasing the conductivity of the solution and the double layer capacitance around the microelectrodes. Impedance decreases linearly in the 2 × 103–2 × 105 cfu·mL−1 E. coli concentration range, with a 500 cfu·mL−1 detection limit. Egg shell wash samples and tap water spiked with E. coli were successfully used for validation, and this demonstrates the practical application of this method.

Schematic representation of the AuNP@Ag enhancement method integrated with multifunctional microfluidic chip platform for impedimetric quantitation of bacteria. The method significantly improves the performance of impedimetric detection of bacteria.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Zhongwu Zhou and PabloVega for their critical reading of the manuscript. The work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 21375156); National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Ministry of Science and Technology 863 Plan) (No 2015AA021104); Frontier Research Key Projects of Chongqing Science and Technology Committee, [cstc2015jcyjBX0010]; Scientific and Technical Innovation Projects for People’s Livelihood of Chongqing Science and Technology Committee, [cstc2015shms,zx00014]; Benefit Projects for People’s Livelihood by Science and Technology, Chongqing Science and Technology Committee 【cstc2015jcsf8001】,2015.07-2017.07; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Fund for Brain Science), (No.10611CDJXZ238826) Partial support from the Center for Food Safety Engineering, Agricultural Research Service, under Agreement No. 1935-42000-049-00D at Purdue University is appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Renjie Wang, Yi Xu & Rong Wang

  2. Key Principle Laboratory of Fundamental Science of Micro/Nano-Device and System Technology, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Renjie Wang, Yi Xu & Rong Wang

  3. National Center for International Research of Micro/Nano-System and New Material Technology, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Renjie Wang, Yi Xu & Rong Wang

  4. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Bindley Bioscience Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Thomas Sors, Joseph Irudayaraj & Wen Ren

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  1. Renjie Wang
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  2. Yi Xu
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Correspondence to Yi Xu.

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Wang, R., Xu, Y., Sors, T. et al. Impedimetric detection of bacteria by using a microfluidic chip and silver nanoparticle based signal enhancement. Microchim Acta 185, 184 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-017-2645-x

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