Recent Progress in Spectroscopic Methods for the Detection of Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria

Abstract

Detection of foodborne pathogens at an early stage is very important to control food quality and improve medical response. Rapid detection of foodborne pathogens with high sensitivity and specificity is becoming an urgent requirement in health safety, medical diagnostics, environmental safety, and controlling food quality. Despite the existing bacterial detection methods being reliable and widely used, these methods are time-consuming, expensive, and cumbersome. Therefore, researchers are trying to find new methods by integrating spectroscopy techniques with artificial intelligence and advanced materials. Within this progress report, advances in the detection of foodborne pathogens using spectroscopy techniques are discussed. This paper presents an overview of the progress and application of spectroscopy techniques for the detection of foodborne pathogens, particularly new trends in the past few years, including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence spectroscopy, multiangle laser light scattering, and imaging analysis. In addition, the applications of artificial intelligence, microfluidics, smartphone-based techniques, and advanced materials related to spectroscopy for the detection of bacterial pathogens are discussed. Finally, we conclude and discuss possible research prospects in aspects of spectroscopy techniques for the identification and classification of pathogens.

Keywords: biomedical devices; biosensors; pathogen detection; spectroscopy.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the on-chip SERS technique for the detection of L. monocytogenes. (i) SERS-encoded gold nanostars. (ii) An antibody-binding protein. (iii) Test sample containing bacteria. (iv) Incubating bacterial testing sample with SERS tag. (v) Microfluidic channel for flowing the sample and SERS detection. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [47].

Figure 2

Schematic demonstration of the smartphone-based SERS platform for the classification of bacterial samples. (a,b) Testing samples with and without bacteria mixed with AuNPs. (c) The acquired RGB signal of the captured images was utilized for detecting the bacterial concentrations. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [60].

Figure 3

Schematic representation of the microfluidic-based device for the isolation and detection of E. coli using fluorescence detection. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [74].

Figure 4

(a) Fabricated microfluidic chip for passing the laser light and collecting the scattered light. (b) Microscopic view of the microfluidic channel for passing pathogenic sample. (c) A prototype connected with laptop for the identification of microbes using the principle of scattered light signals from the microfluidic platform. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [98].

Figure 5

(A) The developed prototype of the lab-on-a-tube biosensor. (B) The internal view of the operating device. (C) The modified glass tube uses various magnetic beads, particles, and biological materials. (D) Various components of the electrical hardware. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [110].