Abstract
Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is one of the top pathogens of interest for the development of rapid diagnostic systems for food and water samples. The objective of this research is to develop a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized for the biological capture and detection of E. coli O157:H7 inthe field. Using glutaraldehyde, pathogen specific antibodies are covalently attached to conductive microfiber membranes which are then blocked using a 5% bovine serum albumin solution. The functionalized membranes are then exposed to E. coli O157:H7 cells washed in Butterfield’s phosphate buffer and added to a phosphate-buffer electrolyte solution. When a voltage is applied to the system, the presence of the captured pathogen on the fiber surface results in an increase in resistance at the electrotextile electrode surface, indicating a positive result. In this study, the initial resistance of the membrane in the electrochemical system was established and found to range between 5.8 and 13 . The resistance of the system not associated with the electrotextile fibers was calculated to contribute to only 2.8% of the total system resistance, and found not to be significant. A proof of concept experiment was conducted and determined that the electrotextile electrode was able to differentiate between small changes in a solution’s conductivity associated with the presence of E. coli O157:H7 cells over a concentration range of log 0 - 9 CFU/mL.
Highlights
Food and waterborne pathogens do not have as significant an effect on US military operations as they have in the past, enteric pathogens are still one of the top causes of non-combat related injuries in the field and are one of the primary military medical concerns for deployed troops [1]
The objective of this research is to develop a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized for the biological capture and detection of E. coli O157:H7 in the field
We have shown that a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized can be used for the detection of
Summary
Food and waterborne pathogens do not have as significant an effect on US military operations as they have in the past, enteric pathogens are still one of the top causes of non-combat related injuries in the field and are one of the primary military medical concerns for deployed troops [1]. Gastroenteritis was the leading cause of illness among troops during Operations Desert Shield (1990 - 1991) and Desert Storm (1991) [2]. This is a significant issue for the military to address because an outbreak of diarrheal disease in the field has the ability to rapidly affect a large number of war fighters. During Operation Restore Hope (1992 - 1993), it was shown that 16% of all hospital admissions were for diarrheal illness [3]. Of these admissions, 16% could be traced back to Escherichia coli (E. coli). Various studies on diarrheal illness in deployed troops have listed an array of enteric pathogens as the source with the most commonly occurring ones being: Shigella, E. coli, Salmonella, and Cam-
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