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Microbial biosensor: a new trend in the detection of bacterial contamination

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Abstract

Measuring activity of functional protein molecules such as different enzymes excreted from microbial cells has become very important in understanding cell metabolism and its application in the medical diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry. The aim of this work was to investigate the correlation of total bacterial count and the amount of secreted lytic enzymes under different environmental conditions. The results obtained helped us to better optimize a simple biomimetic sensor chip, the setup of which was published in our previous work (Ibrišimović et al., Monatsh Chem 140:941, 2009), enabling us to increase the sensor’s sensitivity and selectivity toward bacterial infection and registering their enzymatic activity in real time. The biosensor consists of two different layers: (a) mirror layer (Ni–Cr composition called Inconel) and (b) biomimetic polymer [poly(lactic-coglycolic acid), PLGA], which can be degraded by microbial lytic enzymes. This biomimetic sensor is very simple, cheap to make, and easy to integrate in films, bags, tubes, and trays and therefore not only able to show food contamination, but also interesting for a variety of issues in the pharma, cosmetic, and environmental industry. The sensor signal is clear, visible to the naked eye, and provides reliable information of bacterial presence.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety) for financial support, providing bacterial strains, and giving feedback on microbiological problems.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Tuzla, Univerzitetska 4, 75000, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina

      Nadira Ibrišimović, Aldina Kesić & Fritz Pittner

    2. Medical School Faculty-Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Hrasnička cesta 3a, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

      Mirza Ibrišimović

    Authors
    1. Nadira Ibrišimović
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    2. Mirza Ibrišimović
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    3. Aldina Kesić
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    4. Fritz Pittner
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Nadira Ibrišimović.

    Additional information

    N. Ibrišimović and M. Ibrišimović contributed equally.

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    Ibrišimović, N., Ibrišimović, M., Kesić, A. et al. Microbial biosensor: a new trend in the detection of bacterial contamination. Monatsh Chem 146, 1363–1370 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-015-1451-6

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00706-015-1451-6

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