Multimodal Magneto-Fluorescent Nanosensor for Rapid and Specific Detection of Blood-Borne Pathogens

Abstract

Detection of bacterial contaminants in blood and platelet concentrates (PCs) continues to be challenging in clinical settings despite available current testing methods. At the same time, it is important to detect the low bacterial contaminants present at the time of transfusion. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of a dual-modal magnetofluorescent nanosensor (MFnS) by integrating magnetic relaxation and fluorescence modalities for the wide-range detection of blood-borne pathogens. In this study, functional MFnSs are designed to specifically detect Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli, two of the predominant bacterial contaminants of PCs. Specific interaction between the target pathogen and functional MFnS resulted in the change of water proton's magnetic relaxation time, indicative of sensitive detection of the target bacteria from low to high colony-forming units (CFUs). In addition, the acquired magnetic relaxation signal of the MFnS further facilitated quantitative assessment of the slow and fast growth kinetics of target pathogens. Moreover, the presence of fluorescence modality in MFnS allowed for the detection of multicontaminants. Bacterial detection was also performed in complex media including whole blood and PCs, which further demonstrated its robust detection sensitivity. Overall, our study indicated that the designer MFnS will have potential for the wide-range detection of blood-borne pathogens and features desirable qualities including timeliness, sensitivity, and specificity.

Advances in the Bacteriophage-Based Precise Identification and Magnetic Relaxation Switch Sensor for Rapid Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

“…Subsequently, this group based on the similar dual-mode detection scheme to realize the detection of Staphylococcus epidermidis and E. coli which were contaminants in blood. This dual-mode determination improves the accuracy of actual detection [49].…”

Harnessing the Intriguing Properties of Magnetic Nanoparticles to Detect and Treat Bacterial Infections

“…Banerjee et al designed a method that allows for the specific interaction between the target pathogen and a functional magneto-fluorescent nanosensor (MFnS), resulting in the change of the magnetic relaxation time of water protons, which is indicative of the sensitive detection of the target bacteria from low to high colony-forming units (CFUs). The study established the design and synthesis of a dual-modal MFnS for the extensive detection of target pathogen by integrating MR and fluorescence modalities (Figure 2B) [48].…”

“…Figure 2. Schematic illustration of experimental procedures: (A) rapid fluorescence detection of pathogenic bacteria using a magnetic enrichment technique combined with magnetophoretic chromatography (reproduced with permission from[47]; published by Springer, 2017); (B) multimodal magneto-fluorescent nanosensor for rapid and specific detection of blood-borne pathogens (reproduced with permission from[48]; published by American Chemical Society, 2019).…”

An enzyme-mediated universal fluorescent biosensor template for pathogen detection based on a three-dimensional DNA walker and catalyzed hairpin assembly

“…10 In order to overcome these defects, biosensors with high performance have been explored to use point of care testing (POCT) for pathogen detection. [11][12][13] Fluorescent biosensors have attracted wide attention as a candidate POCT technique because of their excellent specificity, high speed and ease of use. 14,15 The reported fluorescent biosensors, such as DNA walkers, have the same working principle, including target capture, displacement and detection.…”