A carbon nanotube immunosensor for Salmonella

Abstract

Antibody-functionalized carbon nanotube devices have been suggested for use as bacterial detectors for monitoring of food purity in transit from the farm to the kitchen. Here we report progress towards that goal by demonstrating specific detection of Salmonella in complex nutrient broth solutions using nanotube transistors functionalized with covalently-bound anti-Salmonella antibodies. The small size of the active device region makes them compatible with integration in large-scale arrays. We find that the on-state current of the transistor is sensitive specifically to the Salmonella concentration and saturates at low concentration (<1000 cfu/ml). In contrast, the carrier mobility is affected comparably by Salmonella and other bacteria types, with no sign of saturation even at much larger concentrations (108 cfu/ml).

Nanotubos de carbono: potencial de uso em medicina veterinária

“…Por exemplo, a detecção de resíduos e contaminantes em produtos de origem animal ainda é um desafi o. A identifi cação de patógenos como Salmonella por meio da adição de anticorpos específi cos nas paredes laterais dos NTCs demostrou que esse método é capaz de identifi car a bactéria de forma mais rápida e específi ca que os métodos convencionais (LERNER et al, 2011). A identifi cação de compostos organofosforados e antibióticos do grupo β-lactâmicos também é possível por meio da funcionalização de NTC (BALASUBRAMANIAN & BURGHARD, 2006).…”

Nanobiotechnology perspectives. Role of nanotechnology in the food industry: a review

“…Different devices have been developed to detect numerous toxins, pathogens and chemicals in foods packaging such as nanowires and antibodies (Dingman, 2008). The food quality was monitored by an antibody-functionalised carbon nanotube nanosensor for detecting Salmonella infection in a complex nutrient broth solution (Lerner et al, 2011). Cheng et al (2008) developed an amperometric sensor with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with perfluorosulfonated cation-exchanger polymer (Nafion) to detect coliforms of E. coli.…”

“…Thus, this device is fast and sensitive in detecting coliforms, showing it to be a good system to apply in the food industry. The food quality was monitored by an antibody-functionalised carbon nanotube nanosensor for detecting Salmonella infection in a complex nutrient broth solution (Lerner et al, 2011). Because the estimation of cholesterol quantity is of interest to the food industries, a biosensor related to a cholesterol biosensor containing multiwall carbon nanotubes and cholesterol oxidase has been constructed on glassy carbon electrodes with excellent performance (Yang et al, 2011).…”

Detecting Lyme disease using antibody-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube transistors

“…Protein-functionalized nanotube-based FETs are of great research and clinical interest for several reasons. Their nanometer size is comparable to the size of many biomolecules of interest, suggesting a unique biocompatible platform (Harrison and Atala 2007; Lerner et al 2011; Sudibya et al 2009). Additionally, since every atom of a carbon nanotube is located on its surface, in direct contact with the environment, they are a clear choice for direct environmental sensing.…”