Abstract
Rapid and specific identification of bacteria is critical for clinical and biosafety applications. Fiber optic biosensors (FOBs) are increasingly being applied to the detection of bacteria in food and water supplies, food processing facilities, and homeland security operations. These biosensors can be used for multiplexed pathogen detection or to confirm the results of other techniques, often in less than one hour. FOBs offer several advantages over conventional culture-based techniques, or polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays, in terms of speed, specificity, and depth of information content. In addition, some sensor platforms have been developed into portable systems capable of emergency field deployment. In this chapter, we will discuss the detection of bacteria using fiber optic immunosensors, nucleic acid-based FOBs in various assay formats, and several applications of these technologies.
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