Rapid detection and classification of pathogenic microbes
for food
hygiene, healthcare, environmental contamination, and chemical and
biological exposures remain a major challenge due to nonavailability
of fast and accurate detection methods. The delay in clinical diagnosis
of the most frequent bacterial infections, particularly urinary tract
infections (UTIs), which affect about half of the population at least
once in their lifetime, can be fatal if not detected and treated appropriately.
In this work, we have fabricated aluminum (Al) foil integrated pegylated
gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as a potential surface-enhanced Raman scattering
(SERS) substrate, which is used for the detection and classification
of uropathogens, namely, E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa directly from the culture without any pretreatment. The substrate
is first drop cast with bacterial pellets and then pegylated AuNPs,
and the interaction of two on Al foil base gives identifiable characteristic
Raman peaks with good reproducibility. With the use of chemometric
methods such as principal component analysis (PCA), the Al foil-based
SERS substrate offers a quick, effective detection and classification
of three strains of UTI bacteria with the least bacterial concentration
(105 cells mL–1) necessary for clinical
diagnosis. In addition, this substrate was able to detect E. coli positive clinical samples by giving SERS
fingerprint information directly from centrifuged urine samples within
minutes. The stability of pegylated AuNPs provides for its application
at the point of care with rapid and easy detection of uropathogens
as well as the possibility of advancement in healthcare applications.