Yang Minghui, Kostov Yordan, Rasooly Avraham
Center for Advanced Sensor Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD 21250, USA.
Int J Food Microbiol. 2008 Sep 30;127(1-2):78-83. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.06.012. Epub 2008 Jun 18.
Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are a major cause of food-borne diseases, traditionally SEs assayed immunologically with ELISA. Carbon nanotubes' (CNT) unique mechanical and electronic properties combined with a large specific surface area make them attractive for biosensing. To investigate whether CNT could improve the sensitivity of ELISA assays, we developed an optical CNT immunosensor for the detection of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB) in food. Anti-SEB antibodies were immobilized onto a CNT surface through electrostatic adsorption and then the antibody-nanotube mixture was bound onto a polycarbonate film. SEB was then detected by a "sandwich-type" ELISA assay on the polycarbonate film. The use of CNT increased the sensitivity of the immunosensor by at least 6-fold, lowering the detection limit of SEB. The CNT immunosensor was also able to detect SEB various foods, suggesting the utility of CNT for this and other optical-based immunological detection methods.
葡萄球菌肠毒素（SEs）是食源性疾病的主要病因，传统上SEs通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）进行免疫检测。碳纳米管（CNT）独特的机械和电子特性，再加上较大的比表面积，使其在生物传感方面具有吸引力。为了研究CNT是否能提高ELISA检测的灵敏度，我们开发了一种用于检测食品中葡萄球菌肠毒素B（SEB）的光学CNT免疫传感器。抗SEB抗体通过静电吸附固定在CNT表面，然后将抗体-纳米管混合物结合到聚碳酸酯膜上。然后通过聚碳酸酯膜上的“夹心型”ELISA检测SEB。CNT的使用使免疫传感器的灵敏度提高了至少6倍，降低了SEB的检测限。CNT免疫传感器还能够检测各种食品中的SEB，表明CNT在这种以及其他基于光学的免疫检测方法中具有实用性。
