Disposable all-printed electronic biosensor for instantaneous detection and classification of pathogens

Abstract

A novel disposable all-printed electronic biosensor is proposed for a fast detection and classification of bacteria. This biosensor is applied to classify three types of popular pathogens: Salmonella typhimurium, and the Escherichia coli strains JM109 and DH5-α. The proposed sensor consists of inter-digital silver electrodes fabricated through an inkjet material printer and silver nanowires uniformly decorated on the electrodes through the electrohydrodynamic technique on a polyamide based polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The best sensitivity of the proposed sensor is achieved at 200 µm teeth spaces of the inter-digital electrodes along the density of the silver nanowires at 30 × 103/mm2. The biosensor operates on ±2.5 V and gives the impedance value against each bacteria type in 8 min after sample injection. The sample data are measured through an impedance analyzer and analyzed through pattern recognition methods such as linear discriminate analysis, maximum likelihood, and back propagation artificial neural network to classify each type of bacteria. A perfect classification and cross-validation is achieved by using the unique fingerprints extracted from the proposed biosensor through all the applied classifiers. The overall experimental results demonstrate that the proposed disposable all-printed biosensor is applicable for the rapid detection and classification of pathogens.

Disposable Sensors in Diagnostics, Food, and Environmental Monitoring

“…Microbes in drinking water are generally detected through conventional microbial culturing, ELISA or PCR methods in central laboratories which are generally slow and/or labor intensive (once again similar to POCT and food analysis). Disposable sensors can be used to either sense the presence of whole microbes or their genetic materials in samples of water to quantify their concentrations at the point of need. Disposable microbial sensors may employ antibodies, bacteriophages or nucleic acids for capture and recognition of specific microbes.…”

“…Disposable microbial sensors may employ antibodies, bacteriophages or nucleic acids for capture and recognition of specific microbes. Paper, metals and polymers are commonly used for the construction of open‐ and closed‐channel microfluidic devices which may use electrochemical, colorimetric or luminescent methods of transduction for quantification. Regardless of the method of sensing, the number of microbes in a sample of water may be too low.…”

Emerging Analytical Techniques for Rapid Pathogen Identification and Susceptibility Testing

“…Although the design and construction of the sensing elements present technical challenges, having the ability to directly observe the physical presence of an analyte without secondary probes or assay reagents allows for the rapid, unperturbed measurement of samples. In a recent example, Ali et al (120) demonstrated the use of silver nanowires to substantially enhance the sensitivity of contact-based impedance sensing. Using the transient response of the sensing element, the authors could differentiate between three species of bacterial pathogens within 8 min of exposure to the sample.…”

Smart Manufacturing Technologies for Printed Electronics

“…The prominent noncontact printing techniques include slot-die coating, electrohydrodynamics, and inkjet printing. The noncontact printing techniques have received greater attractions due to their distinct capabilities such as simplicity, affordability, speed, adaptability to the fabrication process, reduced material wastage, high resolution of patterns, and easy control by adjusting few process parameters [6,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”