Dual-signal enhanced lateral flow immunoassay with nanobody-functionalized magnetofluorescent nanoprobes for multiplexed detection of foodborne pathogens.

BACKGROUND

Foodborne pathogen contamination represents a critical global public health challenge. Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has emerged as an indispensable analytical platform for point-of-care detection of pathogenic microorganisms. Nevertheless, conventional dual-monoclonal antibody-based sandwich formats suffer from intrinsic sensitivity limitations that restrict their detection applications. To address this critical challenge, we present an innovative dual-signal amplified LFIA (D-LFIA) platform integrating nanobody-engineered magnetic quantum dot nanocomposites for simultaneous ultrasensitive detection of three high-risk foodborne pathogens: Salmonella enteritidis, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter jejuni.

RESULTS

Specifically, we engineered a dual-functional detection system by incorporating nanobodies into traditional antibody pairs and conjugating them with a triphasic core-shell-satellite architecture nanocomposites, which serve as enrichment-detection dual-functional tags. Our optimized D-LFIA system demonstrated excellent analytical performance, with detection limits of 38, 125, and 47 CFU/mL for the respective pathogens-representing a 32- to 54.9-fold improvement over conventional single-probe LFIA. The multiplex detection capability was successfully demonstrated through simultaneous identification of all three pathogens within 13 min. Validation studies confirmed excellent selectivity, stability, accuracy, and repeatability, with the ability to detect as low as 5 cfu of each pathogen within 2.0-6.5 h.

SIGNIFICANCE

The developed D-LFIA platform significantly advances field-deployable diagnostics, offering transformative potential for food safety monitoring and public health emergency responses. This nanotechnology-integrated approach provides a versatile framework that could be readily adapted for detecting other microbial contaminants through modular probe redesign.