Skip to main content

Rapid and Highly Sensitive Detection of Pyocyanin Biomarker in Different Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections using Gold Nanoparticles Modified Sensor

Research Authors
Amal A. Elkhawaga,Marwa M. Khalifa,Omnia El-badawy,Mona A. Hassan,Waleed A. El-Said
Research Journal
PLOS ONE
Research Publisher
NULL
Research Rank
1
Research Vol
NULL
Research Website
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216438
Research Year
2019
Research Member
Research Abstract

Successful antibiotic treatment of infections relies on accurate and rapid identification of the infectious agents. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is implicated in a wide range of human infections that mostly become complicated and life threating, especially in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Conventional microbiological methods take more than three days to obtain accurate results. Pyocyanin is a distinctive electroactive biomarker for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, we have prepared polyaniline/gold nanoparticles decorated ITO electrode and tested it to establish a rapid, diagnostic and highly sensitive pyocyanin sensor in a culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates with high selectivity for traces of pyocyanin when measured in the existence of different interferences like vitamin C, uric acid, and glucose. The scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques were used to characterize the morphology and electrical conductivity of the constructed electrode. The determined linear range for pyocyanin detection was from 238 μM to 1.9 μM with a detection limit of 500 nM. Compared to the screen-printed electrode used before, the constructed electrode showed a 4-fold enhanced performance. Furthermore, PANI/Au NPs/ITO modified electrodes have demonstrated the ability to detect pyocyanin directly in Pseudomonas aeruginosa culture without any potential interference with other species.