Immunoassay for pathogenic bacteria using platinum nanoparticles and a hand-held hydrogen detector as transducer. Application to the detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7

An innovative approach is presented for portable and sensitive detection of pathogenic bacteria. A novel synthetic hybrid nanocomposite encapsulating platinum nanoparticles, as a highly efficient catalyst, catalyzes the hydrolysis of the ammonia–borane complex to generate hydrogen gas. The nanocomposites are used as a label for immunoassays. A portable hand-held hydrogen detector combined with nanocomposite-induced signal conversion was applied for point-of-care testing of pathogenic bacteria. A hand-held hydrogen detector was used as the transducer. Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157: H7), as detection target, formed a sandwich structure with magnetic beads and hybrid nanocomposites. Magnetic beads were used for separation of the sandwich structure, and hybrid nanocomposites as catalysts to catalyze the generation of hydrogen from ammonia−borane. The generated hydrogen was detected by a hydrogen detector using an electrochemical method. E. coli O157:H7 has a detection limit of 10 CFU·mL−1. The immunosensor made the hand-held hydrogen detector a point-of-care meter to be used outdoors for the detection and quantification of targets beyond hydrogen.