10 - Nanotechnology integration in sensing platforms for significant improvements in pathogenic bacteria detection capabilities and device functionality

Abstract

Pathogenic bacterial detection methods and device functionality could be revolutionized by the incorporation of nanotechnology into sensing platforms. Unique physical and chemical characteristics of nanoscale materials and structures can be taken advantage to build extremely accurate and focused sensing platforms for bacterium identification. The ability of nanotechnology-based sensing platforms to identify low levels of bacteria is one of their key benefits. It is feasible to selectively capture and find particular bacteria in complex samples by employing functionalized nanoparticles. In addition, nanotechnology-based sensors can be made to be extremely selective to a particular target bacterium, lowering the chance of false positives. To do this, the surface of the nanomaterial can be engineered to have certain binding sites that exclusively recognize and capture the target bacterium. Nanotechnology-based sensing platforms have improved sensitivity and selectivity, but they can also offer extra features like remote data collecting and real-time monitoring. Microelectronics, wireless connectivity, and nanoscale materials can all be combined to make smart sensing platforms that can provide data in real-time and enable quick responses to bacterial contamination incidents. The primary goal of this chapter is to provide a summary of pathogen detection techniques and to thoroughly examine each technique with the use of a sensing methodology for the detection of pathogenic bacteria.