Autonomous Magnetoelastic Biosentinels for the Detection and Capture of Invasive Pathogens

Abstract

This paper investigates phage-coated magnetoelastic (ME) biosentinels that capture and detect low-concentration pathogenic bacteria in stagnant liquid. These biosentinels are composed of a freestanding, strip-shaped ME resonator coated with a landscape phage that specifically binds with the pathogen of interest. The biosentinels can be moved through a liquid by externally applied magnetic fields. When a time-varying magnetic field is applied, the biosentinels can be placed into mechanical resonance by magnetostriction. As soon as the biosentinels bind with the target pathogen, a change in the biosentinel's resonant frequency occurs, and thereby the presence of the target pathogen can be detected. Detection of Bacillus anthracis spores under stagnant flow conditions was demonstrated.