TiO2 nanoparticle assisted mass spectrometry as biosensor of Staphylococcus aureus, key pathogen in nosocomial infections from air, skin surface and human nasal passage.

For the first time, we have demonstrated the use of mass spectrometry as a biosensor for detecting a clinically important bacterium: Staphylococcus aureus in air, nasal passage and skin samples using culture-free, rapid, direct analysis via TiO(2) nanoparticles (NPs) assisted MALDI-MS. When this bacterium is predominating, the nasal passage of an individual is observed to lead to wound infections especially when the individual has a surgery or some wounds. This study indicates that even at very low concentrations of an individual bacterium can be directly detected from a mixture of bacteria using the MALDI-MS analysis without the requirement of any culturing steps or any other sample pretreatment techniques. The current approach is extremely simple, rapid, straightforward and sensitive which could be widely applied for the detection of this deadly pathogen in clinical as well as environmental samples.