Biosensors for Detection and Analysis of Bacterial and Viral Pathogens

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors and Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 21020

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Interests: point-of-care diagnostics; biochemical sensors; electrochemical devices; bacterial detection; nanomaterials; nano-electronics; in situ microbial phenotyping

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, various biosensor technologies have been developed for the detection and analysis of bacterial, fungal, or viral pathogens with applications ranging from medical care, to food and water safety, to biosecurity and biodefense. Specifically, infectious diseases caused by bacterial and viral pathogens have been major global health threats with a significant economic burden, with antimicrobial resistant pathogens and the COVID-19 pandemic as major examples. To address these challenges, among other health and environmental issues, rapid and accurate biosensors with minimal sample preparation and ease of operation are urgently needed. Researchers in academic settings, industrial labs, and government labs have been working on the development of various biosensors for the detection of pathogens and studying their interaction with antibacterial or antiviral agents for rapid screening.

We invite researchers to submit their contributions—in the form of full papers, communications, perspectives, and reviews—related to biosensors for bacterial and viral pathogens (detection to analysis). The scope of this special issue is to cover the following potential research topics but is not limited to:

  • Engineering biosensors for detection and quantification of a pathogen’s genetic signature (DNA or RNA), detecting intact cells (virions or whole bacterial cells), or measuring host immune response (antibody detection). The detection techniques may be based on optical, electronic, electrochemical, acoustic, mechanical, or spectroscopy methods.
  • Engineering novel sensing materials (e.g., MXenes, MOFs, 2D materials, hybrid materials, etc.) and demonstrating their sensing application relevant to viral or bacterial pathogens.
  • Design of capture probes (e.g., aptamers, peptides, antibodies, etc.) and surface functionalization for improving selectivity, sensitivity, and/or sensor stability.
  • Novel device/sensor/system design, integration, and sensing demonstration
  • Novel sensors based on advanced molecular methods (e.g., CRISPR technology)

The devastating health and economic challenges caused by bacterial and viral pathogens support the need for a dedicated Special Issue in this area. Biosensors designed for detection of pathogens and characterizing their interaction with environmental stimuli (e.g., host immune response, antiviral or antibacterial agents, and disinfecting strategies) can potentially transform the future of healthcare and environmental safety and help us to better prepare for future crises related to infectious pathogens.

Dr. Aida Ebrahimi

Dr. Huanyu Cheng

Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • infectious disease
  • bacteria detection
  • virus detection
  • pathogen detection
  • sensor
  • immunoassay
  • nucleic acid
  • whole cell
  • virion
  • reagent-free
  • calibration-free
  • label-free
  • phenotype-based sensor
  • smart phone
  • point-of-care
  • lab-on-chip

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2523 KiB  
Article
Immunocapture Magnetic Beads Enhanced the LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a Method for the Sensitive, Specific, and Visual Detection of Campylobacter jejuni
by Chao Li, Xuan Chen, Renqiao Wen, Peng Ma, Kui Gu, Cui Li, Changyu Zhou, Changwei Lei, Yizhi Tang and Hongning Wang
Biosensors 2022, 12(3), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12030154 - 2 Mar 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4915
Abstract
Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important causes of food-borne infectious disease, and poses challenges to food safety and public health. Establishing a rapid, accurate, sensitive, and simple detection method for C. jejuni enables early diagnosis, early intervention, and prevention of pathogen [...] Read more.
Campylobacter jejuni is one of the most important causes of food-borne infectious disease, and poses challenges to food safety and public health. Establishing a rapid, accurate, sensitive, and simple detection method for C. jejuni enables early diagnosis, early intervention, and prevention of pathogen transmission. In this study, an immunocapture magnetic bead (ICB)-enhanced loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) CRISPR/Cas12a method (ICB-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a) was developed for the rapid and visual detection of C. jejuni. Using the ICB-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a method, C. jejuni was first captured by ICB, and the bacterial genomic DNA was then released by heating and used in the LAMP reaction. After the LAMP reaction, LAMP products were mixed and detected by the CRISPR/Cas12a cleavage mixture. This ICB-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a method could detect a minimum of 8 CFU/mL of C. jejuni within 70 min. Additionally, the method was performed in a closed tube in addition to ICB capture, which eliminates the need to separate preamplification and transfer of amplified products to avoid aerosol pollution. The ICB-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a method was further validated by testing 31 C. jejuni-positive fecal samples from different layer farms. This method is an all-in-one, simple, rapid, ultrasensitive, ultraspecific, visual detection method for instrument-free diagnosis of C. jejuni, and has wide application potential in future work. Full article
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13 pages, 2280 KiB  
Communication
A Novel Peptide as a Specific and Selective Probe for Klebsiella pneumoniae Detection
by Hyun Kim, Ju Hye Jang, In Young Jung and Ju Hyun Cho
Biosensors 2022, 12(3), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12030153 - 1 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3269
Abstract
Klebsiella pneumoniae is infamous for generating hospital-acquired infections, many of which are difficult to treat due to the bacterium’s multidrug resistance. A sensitive and robust detection method of K. pneumoniae can help prevent a disease outbreak. Herein, we used K. pneumoniae cells as [...] Read more.
Klebsiella pneumoniae is infamous for generating hospital-acquired infections, many of which are difficult to treat due to the bacterium’s multidrug resistance. A sensitive and robust detection method of K. pneumoniae can help prevent a disease outbreak. Herein, we used K. pneumoniae cells as bait to screen a commercially available phage-displayed random peptide library for peptides that could be used to detect K. pneumoniae. The biopanning-derived peptide TSATKFMMNLSP, named KP peptide, displayed a high selectivity for the K. pneumoniae with low cross-reactivity to related Gram-negative bacteria. The specific interaction between KP peptide and K. pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide resulted in the peptide’s selectivity against K. pneumoniae. Quantitative analysis of this interaction by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that the KP peptide possessed higher specificity and sensitivity toward K. pneumoniae than commercially available anti-Klebsiella spp. antibodies and could detect K. pneumoniae at a detection limit of 104 CFU/mL. These results suggest that KP peptide can be a promising alternative to antibodies in developing a biosensor system for K. pneumoniae detection. Full article
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17 pages, 3169 KiB  
Article
Rapid Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria by the Naked Eye
by Karthikeyan Kandasamy, Miftakhul Jannatin and Yu-Chie Chen
Biosensors 2021, 11(9), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11090317 - 6 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3567
Abstract
Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus are common pathogens. Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli, contain high concentrations of endogenous peroxidases, whereas Gram-positive bacteria, such as S. aureus, possess abundant endogenous catalases. Colorless 3,5,3′,5′-tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) changes to blue oxidized TMB [...] Read more.
Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus are common pathogens. Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli, contain high concentrations of endogenous peroxidases, whereas Gram-positive bacteria, such as S. aureus, possess abundant endogenous catalases. Colorless 3,5,3′,5′-tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) changes to blue oxidized TMB in the presence of E. coli and a low concentration of H2O2 (e.g., ~11 mM) at pH of 3. Moreover, visible air bubbles containing oxygen are generated after S. aureus reacts with H2O2 at a high concentration (e.g., 180 mM) at pH of 3. A novel method for rapidly detecting the presence of bacteria on the surfaces of samples, on the basis of these two endogenous enzymatic reactions, was explored. Briefly, a cotton swab was used for collecting bacteria from the surfaces of samples, such as tomatoes and door handles, then two-step endogenous enzymatic reactions were carried out. In the first step, a cotton swab containing bacteria was immersed in a reagent comprising H2O2 (11.2 mM) and TMB for 25 min. In the second step, the swab was dipped further in H2O2 (180 mM) at pH 3 for 5 min. Results showed that the presence of Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli with a cell number of ≥ ~105, and Gram-positive bacteria, such as S. aureus with a cell number of ≥ ~106, can be visually confirmed according to the appearance of the blue color in the swab and the formation of air bubbles in the reagent solution, respectively, within ~30 min. To improve visual sensitivity, we dipped the swab carrying the bacteria in a vial containing a growth broth, incubated it for ~4 h, and carried out the two-stage reaction steps. Results showed that bluish swabs resulting from the presence of E. coli O157: H7 with initial cell numbers of ≥ ~34 were obtained, whereas air bubbles were visible in the samples containing S. aureus with initial cell numbers of ≥ ~8.5 × 103. Full article
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10 pages, 1882 KiB  
Article
A Rapid Single-Cell Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Workflow for Bloodstream Infections
by Britney Forsyth, Peter Torab, Jyong-Huei Lee, Tyler Malcom, Tza-Huei Wang, Joseph C. Liao, Samuel Yang, Erik Kvam, Chris Puleo and Pak Kin Wong
Biosensors 2021, 11(8), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11080288 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4982
Abstract
Bloodstream infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The rapid initiation of effective antibiotic treatment is critical for patients with bloodstream infections. However, the diagnosis of bloodborne pathogens is largely complicated by the matrix effect of blood and the lengthy [...] Read more.
Bloodstream infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The rapid initiation of effective antibiotic treatment is critical for patients with bloodstream infections. However, the diagnosis of bloodborne pathogens is largely complicated by the matrix effect of blood and the lengthy blood tube culture procedure. Here we report a culture-free workflow for the rapid isolation and enrichment of bacterial pathogens from whole blood for single-cell antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). A dextran sedimentation step reduces the concentration of blood cells by 4 orders of magnitude in 20–30 min while maintaining the effective concentration of bacteria in the sample. Red blood cell depletion facilitates the downstream centrifugation-based enrichment step at a sepsis-relevant bacteria concentration. The workflow is compatible with common antibiotic-resistant bacteria and does not influence the minimum inhibitory concentrations. By applying a microfluidic single-cell trapping device, we demonstrate the workflow for the rapid determination of bacterial infection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing at the single-cell level. The entire workflow from blood to categorical AST result can be completed in less than two hours. Full article
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10 pages, 970 KiB  
Article
A Novel Method That Allows SNP Discrimination with 160:1 Ratio for Biosensors Based on DNA-DNA Hybridization
by Satish Balasaheb Nimse, Keum-Soo Song, Shrikant Dashrath Warkad and Taisun Kim
Biosensors 2021, 11(8), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios11080265 - 6 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2819
Abstract
Highly sensitive (high SBR) and highly specific (high SNP discrimination ratio) DNA hybridization is essential for a biosensor with clinical application. Herein, we propose a method that allows detecting multiple pathogens on a single platform with the SNP discrimination ratios over 160:1 in [...] Read more.
Highly sensitive (high SBR) and highly specific (high SNP discrimination ratio) DNA hybridization is essential for a biosensor with clinical application. Herein, we propose a method that allows detecting multiple pathogens on a single platform with the SNP discrimination ratios over 160:1 in the dynamic range of 101 to 104 copies per test. The newly developed SWAT method allows achieving highly sensitive and highly specific DNA hybridizations. The detection and discrimination of the MTB and NTM strain in the clinical samples with the SBR and SNP discrimination ratios higher than 160:1 indicate the high clinical applicability of the SWAT. Full article
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