Electro-microchip DNA-biosensor for bacteria detection.

This paper presents a bacteria biosensor based on DNA hybridization detection with an electro-microchip transducer. Acinetobacter baumannii was chosen as DNA sample source, because the occurrence of bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii is high in hospitals worldwide. Our strategy is based on DNA hybridization of PCR amplified bacteria DNA with biotin labelled primers and detection enhancement using gold-streptavidin nanoparticles and Ag(+)-hydroquinone solution. Gold nanoparticles catalyze silver ions reduction by hydroquinone. The gradually precipitated silver metal between the two electrodes of the electro-microchip allows electrons to pass. The detection limit for Acinetobacter baumannii genomic DNA sample is 0.825 ng mL(-1) (1.2 fM). Probe specificity was investigated by screening various species of bacteria, various strains of a single species and various species of a single genus. The proposed DNA hybridization method is easy, convenient, and rapid. Moreover, it has potential applications in detection of bacteria causing infections and clinical diagnosis.