Whole cell imprinting in sol-gel thin films for bacterial recognition in liquids: macromolecular fingerprinting.

Thin films of organically modified silica (ORMOSILS) produced by a sol-gel method were imprinted with whole cells of a variety of microorganisms in order to develop an easy and specific probe to concentrate and specifically identify these microorganisms in liquids (e.g., water). Microorganisms with various morphology and outer surface components were imprinted into thin sol-gel films. Adsorption of target microorganism onto imprinted films was facilitated by these macromolecular fingerprints as revealed by various microscopical examinations (SEM, AFM, HSEM and CLSM). The imprinted films showed high selectivity toward each of test microorganisms with high adsorption affinity making them excellent candidates for rapid detection of microorganisms from liquids.