Selective identification of specific aptamers for the detection of non-typhoidal salmonellosis in an apta-impedimetric sensing format

Aptamers: precision tools for diagnosing and treating infectious diseases

Infectious diseases represent a significant global health challenge, with bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasitic protozoa being significant causative agents. The shared symptoms among diseases and the emergence of new pathogen variations make diagnosis and treatment complex. Conventional diagnostic methods are laborious and intricate, underscoring the need for rapid, accurate techniques. Aptamer-based technologies offer a promising solution, as they are cost-effective, sensitive, specific, and convenient for molecular disease diagnosis. Aptamers, which are single-stranded RNA or DNA sequences, serve as nucleotide equivalents of monoclonal antibodies, displaying high specificity and affinity for target molecules. They are structurally robust, allowing for long-term storage without substantial activity loss. Aptamers find applications in diverse fields such as drug screening, material science, and environmental monitoring. In biomedicine, they are extensively studied for biomarker detection, diagnostics, imaging, and targeted therapy. This comprehensive review focuses on the utility of aptamers in managing infectious diseases, particularly in the realms of diagnostics and therapeutics.

Methylene Blue Assisted Electrochemical Detection of Bacterial Biofilm

This paper presents a novel electrochemical transduction method for the rapid and straightforward detection of bacterial biofilm. Briefly, fifteen isolates from various sources were collected and evaluated for their ability to generate biofilm. The Congo red-based agar method and the tube test were used for preliminary screening. A microtiter experiment was also performed to quantitatively examine the screening results and validate the outcomes of the proposed methylene blue-based electrochemical detection method. Electrochemical sensing was performed on the two selected isolates using methylene blue as a redox indicator. For optimization goals, several methylene blue concentrations were studied. Methylene blue at a concentration of 0.4 mM was used for the analysis conclusion. The developed electrochemical method displayed a linear R2 value of 0.9747. The new electrochemical approach demonstrated great sensitivity and rapid response compared to conventional microtiter test methods.

Integrated label-free erbium-doped fiber laser biosensing system for detection of single cell Staphylococcus aureus

A critical challenge to realize ultra-high sensitivity with optical fiber interferometers for label free biosensing is to achieve high quality factors (Q-factor) in liquid. In this work a high Q-factor of 10⁵, which significantly improves the detection resolution is described based on a structure of single mode -core-only -single mode fiber (SCS) with its multimode (or Mach-Zehnder) interference effect as a filter that is integrated into an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) system for excitation. In the case study, the section of core-only fiber is functionalized with porcine immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies, which could selectively bind to bacterial pathogen of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The developed microfiber-based biosensing platform called SCS-based EDFL biosensors can effectively detect concentrations of S. aureus from 10 to 10⁵ CFU/mL, with a responsivity of 0.426 nm wavelength shift in the measured spectrum for S. aureus concentration of 10 CFU/mL. The limit of detection (LoD) is estimated as 7.3 CFU/mL based on the measurement of S. aureus with minimum concentration of 10 CFU/mL. In addition, when a lower concentration of 1 CFU/mL is applied to the biosensor, a wavelength shift of 0.12 nm is observed in 10% of samples (1/10), indicating actual LoD of 1 CFU/mL for the proposed biosensor. Attributed to its good sensitivity, stability, reproducibility and specificity, the proposed EDFL based biosensing platform has great potentials for diagnostics.

Aptamer-Based Electrochemical Biosensors for the Detection of Salmonella: A Scoping Review

The development of rapid, accurate, and efficient detection methods for Salmonella can significantly control the outbreak of salmonellosis that threatens global public health. Despite the high sensitivity and specificity of the microbiological, nucleic-acid, and immunological-based methods, they are impractical for detecting samples outside of the laboratory due to the requirement for skilled individuals and sophisticated bench-top equipment. Ideally, an electrochemical biosensor could overcome the limitations of these detection methods since it offers simplicity for the detection process, on-site quantitative analysis, rapid detection time, high sensitivity, and portability. The present scoping review aims to assess the current trends in electrochemical aptasensors to detect and quantify Salmonella. This review was conducted according to the latest Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A literature search was performed using aptamer and Salmonella keywords in three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Springer. Studies on electrochemical aptasensors for detecting Salmonella published between January 2014 and January 2022 were retrieved. Of the 787 studies recorded in the search, 29 studies were screened for eligibility, and 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria were retrieved for this review. Information on the Salmonella serovars, targets, samples, sensor specification, platform technologies for fabrication, electrochemical detection methods, limit of detection (LoD), and detection time was discussed to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of the developed electrochemical aptasensor platform for the detection of Salmonella. The reported electrochemical aptasensors were mainly developed to detect Salmonella enterica Typhimurium in chicken meat samples. Most of the developed electrochemical aptasensors were fabricated using conventional electrodes (13 studies) rather than screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) (two studies). The developed aptasensors showed LoD ranges from 550 CFU/mL to as low as 1 CFU/mL within 5 min to 240 min of detection time. The promising detection performance of the electrochemical aptasensor highlights its potential as an excellent alternative to the existing detection methods. Nonetheless, more research is required to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the electrochemical sensing platform for Salmonella detection, particularly in human clinical samples, to enable their future use in clinical practice.

Aptamer-Modified Nanoparticles in Medical Applications

Since aptamers have been selected against a broad range of target structures of medical interest and nanoparticles are available with diverse properties, aptamer-modified nanoparticles can be used in various diagnostic and therapeutic applications. While the aptamer is responsible for specificity and affinity of the conjugate, the nanoparticles' function varies from signal generation in diagnostic approaches to drug loading in drug delivery systems. Within this chapter different medical applications of aptamer-modified nanoparticles will be summarized and underlying principles will be described.

Electrochemical Diagnostics for Bacterial Infectious Diseases

Bacterial infections are urgent threats to human health, especially in light of rising rates of antibiotic resistance, and their ubiquity demands the development of efficient diagnostic platforms. Electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care testing are garnering interest due to their speed, sensitivity, and selectivity as well as their inexpensive, user-friendly operation. These biosensors have the potential to make significant commercial and clinical impacts. In this Viewpoint, we discuss recent advances in the electrochemical detection of pathogenic bacteria using both direct and alternating current. We focus on platforms that detect whole microbes, as these sensors are specific, fast, and easy to operate.

Aptamer functionalized MoS2-rGO nanocomposite based biosensor for the detection of Vi antigen

We report a novel aptamer functionalized MoS₂-rGO based electrochemical method for Vi polysaccharide antigen mediated detection of enteric fever. Herein, highly selective anti-Vi aptamers were screened from a pool of oligonucleotides using a microtitre based SELEX approach and characterized for its specificity and stability. The MoS₂-rGO nanocomposite was synthesized using a liquid assisted exfoliation by taking optimum ratio of MoS₂ and rGO. The nanocomposite presented synergistic effect owing to easy biomolecular functionalization and enhanced conductivity. The screened anti-Vi aptamers were embedded on the MoS₂-rGO nanocomposite via thiol linkage to give a stable biointerface. The developed aptasensor was characterized and further evaluated for its performance with different concentrations of Vi antigen using ferrocene labeled boronic acid as an electroactive probe. The aptasensor responded linearly in the range between 0.1 ng mL^-1 to 1000 ng mL^-1with a detection limit of 100 pg mL^-1, and did not show any cross-reactivity with other bacterial polysaccharides indicating high specificity. The applicability of the developed aptasensor was further validated in urine and sera specimens spiked with Vi antigen.

Development of Cell-Specific Aptamers: Recent Advances and Insight into the Selection Procedures

Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) is an established procedure for developing short single-stranded nucleic acid ligands called aptamers against a target of choice. This approach has also been used for developing aptamers specific to whole cells named Cell-SELEX. Aptamers selected by Cell-SELEX have the potential to act as cell specific therapeutics, cell specific markers or cell specific drug delivery and imaging agents. However, aptamer development is a laborious and time-consuming process which is often challenging due to the requirement of frequent optimization of various steps involved in Cell-SELEX procedures. This review provides an insight into various procedures for selection, aptamer enrichment, regeneration and aptamer-binding analysis, in addition to a very recent update on all aptamers selected by Cell-SELEX procedures.