Bilinear Staphylococcus aureus detection based on suspension immunoassay

Target Recognition Initiated Self-Assembly-Based Signal Amplification Strategy for Sensitive and Colorimetric Staphylococcus aureus Detection and Diagnosis of Skin Infection

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), as a Gram-positive bacterium, is commonly encountered in various infectious diseases, such as acute skin and soft tissue infections. Despite that many efforts have been made, sensitive and reliable quantitative determination of S. aureus remains a huge challenge. Here, we depict a novel colorimetric approach for sensitive and accurate detection by combining allosteric probe-based target recognition and chain extension-based dual signal recycling. The single-strand DNA (ssDNA) products generated by the chain extension process lead to the liberation of G-quadruplex sequences, which can fold into active DNAzyme under the assistance of hemin. The active DNAzyme can work as peroxidase mimics to catalyze the 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS2-)-H2O2 system, causing the color change of the system. Eventually, the method exhibits a wide detection range from 103 cfu/mL to 106 cfu/mL. The limit of detection of the approach was determined 232 cfu/mL. Considering the robust capability of the approach in S. aureus detection, we believe that it will be a potential alternative tool for biomedical research and clinical molecular diagnostics.

Recent Progress in the Diagnosis of Staphylococcus in Clinical Settings

Staphylococci are mainly found on the skin or in the nose. These bacteria are typically friendly, causing no harm to healthy individuals or resulting in only minor issues that can go away on their own. However, under certain circumstances, staphylococcal bacteria could invade the bloodstream, affect the entire body, and lead to life-threatening problems like septic shock. In addition, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus is another issue because of its difficulty in the treatment of infections, such as the notorious methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which is resistant to most of the currently known antibiotics. Therefore, rapid and accurate diagnosis of Staphylococcus and characterization of the antibiotic resistance profiles are essential in clinical settings for efficient prevention, control, and treatment of the bacteria. This chapter highlights recent advances in the diagnosis of Staphylococci in clinical settings with a focus on the advanced technique of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which will provide a framework for the real-world applications of novel diagnostic techniques in medical laboratories via bench-top instruments and at the bedside through point-of-care devices.

Flow cytometry-based rapid detection of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using fluorescent antibodies

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) are major pathogens frequently detected in food and beverage poisoning, and persistent infections. Therefore, the development of a rapid method that can detect these pathogens before serious multiplication is required. In this study, we established a flow cytometry (FCM)-based detection method that allows rapid acquisition of cell populations in fluid samples by using a fluorescent antibody against S. aureus or P. aeruginosa. Using this method, we detected these pathogens with a 10³ to 10⁵ CFU order of limit of detection value within 1 hour. The FCM-based method for the detection of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa offers the possibility of high-throughput analysis of pathogens in food, environmental, and clinical sources.

Sandwich Fluorescence Detection of Foodborne Pathogen Staphylococcus aureus with CD Fluorescence Signal Amplification in Food Samples

Timely detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is critical because it can multiply to disease−causing levels in a matter of hours. Herein, a simple and sensitive DNA tetrahedral (Td) fluorescence signal amplifier with blue carbon quantum dots (bCDs) was prepared for sandwich detection of S. aureus. bCD was modified at the apex of Td, and an aptamer on Td was used to accurately identify and “adsorb” the amplifier to the surface of S. aureus. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrates the successful preparation of this signal amplifier. The fluorescence intensity emitted in this strategy increased 4.72 times. The strategy showed a stronger fluorescence intensity change, sensitivity (linear range of 7.22 × 10⁰–1.44  × 10⁹ CFU/mL with a LOD of 4 CFU/mL), and selectivity. The recovery rate in qualified pasteurized milk and drinking water samples was 96.54% to 104.72%. Compared with simple aptamer sandwich detection, these fluorescence signal amplifiers have improved fluorescence detection of S. aureus. Additionally, this fluorescent signal amplification strategy may be applied to the detection of other food pathogens or environmental microorganisms in the future.

Ultrasensitive microfluidic immunosensor with stir bar enrichment for point-of-care test of Staphylococcus aureus in foods triggered by DNAzyme-assisted click reaction

This work demonstrated an ultrasensitive and simple microfluidic immunosensor for point-of-care test of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) based on the stir bar enrichment and DNAzyme-assisted click reaction. Initially, S. aureus was enriched by the 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid-functionalized stir bar. The yolk antibody (immunoglobulin Y) and copper-labeled polydopamine nanoparticles were then specifically conjugated with the captured target. The Cu(II) was released under acidic conditions and effectively catalyzed the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) between the alkyne group-labeled DNAzyme and the streptavidin-biotin-azido with the assistance of DNAzyme. Finally, the DNAzyme-streptavidin complexes were detected by microfluidic chips to quantify S. aureus. Under optimum conditions, this immunosensor showed good detection performances toward S. aureus within 10 to 2.5 × 10⁴ CFU/mL with a limit of detection of 3 CFU/mL. Moreover, the satisfying detection results of real samples of animal origin also implied that this immunosensor owned great potential in practical applications.

Faster Detection of Staphylococcus aureus in Milk and Milk Powder by Flow Cytometry

A flow cytometry (FCM)-based method was developed for the faster detection of Staphylococcus aureus in milk and milk powder. Viable S. aureus cells were recognized by highly selective, fluorescently labeled antibodies and Propidium Iodide, and then analyzed by FCM. Using a 5-h pre-enrichment period, the method could detect low numbers of S. aureus cells in 6 h, with a limit of detection of 7.50 cells/mL in milk and 8.30 cells/g in milk powder. The established method was compared with the plate-based method using 75 ultra-high-temperature-treated milk samples, 25 pasteurized milk samples, 66 raw milk samples, and 123 milk powder samples. The two methods yielded similar results for the detection of the pathogen in all sample types. The FCM-based method allows effective and faster monitoring of S. aureus contamination and can be applied to the rapid detection of microorganisms in milk and dairy products.

Size-Dependent Modulation of Polydopamine Nanospheres on Smart Nanoprobes for Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria at Single-Cell Level and Imaging-Guided Photothermal Bactericidal Activity

Pathogenic bacterial fouling in agriculture and food-associated products poses mounting food safety concerns today. Efficient integration of precise tracking and on-demand bacterial killing to achieve the source control of pathogenic bacteria at the single-cell level is one of the most valuable antifouling methods for safeguarding food safety but remains unexplored. Here, we report an all-in-one design strategy as a proof of concept to establish a stimuli-responsive nanoprobe PDANSs-FAM-Apt for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) at the single-cell level, which could be capable of guiding the on-demand photothermal killing of bacteria upon near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. By examining the size-dependent modulation of the fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiency to polydopamine nanospheres (PDANSs), PDANSs-FAM-Apt was finally assembled by 6-carboxyfluorescein-terminated S. aureus, binding the aptamer (FAM-Apt) and PDANSs at ∼258 nm through π-π stacking interactions. As a result, PDANSs-FAM-Apt exhibits a remarkable fluorescence enhancement (∼261-fold) to S. aureus with a satisfactory detection limit of 1.0 cfu/mL, allowing for assay at the single-cell level and thus ultralow background fluorescence imaging of S. aureus as well as its biofilms. Moreover, PDANSs-FAM-Apt shows a high photothermal bactericidal property upon NIR light irradiation, endowing it with the strong capacity to efficiently produce heat for destroying S. aureus and its biofilms with the guidance of imaging results. This work emphasizes the versatility of using the combination of stimuli-responsive fluorescence imaging dependent on the PDANS size modulation and NIR light-activated photothermal antibacterial activity to design stimuli-responsive nanoprobes with an improved precision for pathogenic bacteria monitoring and source controlling, which opens a promising antifouling avenue to eliminate bacteria and disrupt bacterial biofilms in agriculture and food-related industries.