Outbreaks of Salmonella contamination on fresh produce over the past decade point to the need for a new detection method for on-site application.  Phage-based magnetoelastic (ME) biosensors composed of a magnetoelastic strip (1-mm size) and filamenous E2 phages as a biorecognition element have recently been developed.  For the objective evaluation of ME biosensors, the performance of ME biosensors was compared with TaqMan-based quantitative real-time PCR.  Limits of detection (LOD) were determined after serial inoculation of Salmonella on the surface of spinach and tomato.  For the direct comparison of both methods, 3 log CFU of Salmonella was grown on the surface of fresh produce for 24 h and both methods were performed.  LOD of the ME biosensors was determined to be 2.05 log CFU/spinach and 2 log CFU/tomato whereas the LOD for qPCR was determined to be 1.37 log CFU/spinach and1.57 log CFU/spinach.  After 24 h, Salmonella was positively detected by both methods and the quantified number of Salmonella was nearly the same.  This study demonstrated that the ME biosensor method is a competitive and promising new biosensor method for on-site analysis.

Evaluation of phage-based magnetoelastic biosensor method with quantitative PCR for detection of <i>Salmonella</i> on fresh produce

245th National Meeting (2013)

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Evaluation of phage-based magnetoelastic biosensor method with quantitative PCR for detection of Salmonella on fresh produce