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Bacteria-imprinted impedimetric sensor based on doping-induced nanostructured polypyrrole for determination of Escherichia coli

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Abstract

A simple and label-free bacteria-imprinted impedimetric (BIP) sensor for the sensitive measurement of Escherichia coli has been developed. The BIP sensor is fabricated by one-step electropolymerization of pyrrole (functional monomer), copper phthalocyanine-3, 4', 4'', 4'''-tetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (CuPcTs, dopant), and target bacteria (E. coli O157:H7) on a glassy carbon electrode. After the removal of the bacterial template, the established imprinted sites on the CuPcTs-doped polypyrrole film (PPy/CuPcTs) enable the highly selective rebinding of target bacteria and the resulting impedance change of the sensing interface is used to detect the target bacteria. We found that during the electropolymerization process, CuPcTs induced pyrrole to form granular-like nanostructured PPy/CuPcTs with excellent conductivity compared with the PPy film, substantially improving the sensitivity of the proposed sensor. The sensor presented a wide detection range (102 ~ 107 CFU⋅mL-1, RSD 1.1% ~ 3.5%) with a limit of detection of 21 CFU⋅mL-1. Furthermore, the proposed sensor effectively distinguished E. coli O157:H7 from other non-target bacteria and exhibited good practicality with recoveries from 91 to 103% in spiked real samples, indicating the potential utility of the sensor in food safety and environmental monitoring.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31972772) and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-Gaoyuan Food Science Grant Project (No. A1-2801-1810051005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquatic-Product Processing & Preservation, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Min Zhu, Jie Liu, Xuyan Jiang, Yanan Zhang & Jikui Wu

  2. Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education; Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Aquatic Animal Genetics and Breeding, Shanghai Ocean University, No. 999, Hucheng Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Junling Zhang

  3. Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Aquatic Product on Storage and Preservation (Shanghai), Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, No. 999, Hucheng Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201306, China

    Jikui Wu

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  1. Min Zhu
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  2. Jie Liu
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  4. Yanan Zhang
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Correspondence to Junling Zhang or Jikui Wu.

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Zhu, M., Liu, J., Jiang, X. et al. Bacteria-imprinted impedimetric sensor based on doping-induced nanostructured polypyrrole for determination of Escherichia coli. Microchim Acta 190, 431 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-023-06008-2

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