Antibody microarray-based strategies for detection of bacteria by lectin-conjugated gold nanoparticle probes

In this paper, we propose an effective protocol for bacterial detection using antibody microarray-based strategies with gold nanoparticle probes. In this approach, bacteria are captured by immobilized IgGs on the microarray spots. The capturing events are marked by attachment of lectin (e.g. Ricinus Communis Agglutini (RCA) and Concanavalin A (ConA)) conjugated gold nanoparticles followed by silver deposition for signal enhancement. The detection principle is resonance light scattering (RLS). Using this technique, highly selective discrimination of bacterial strain types (i.e., gram-negative, gram-positive and fungus) down to 103 cells per assay with a dynamic range of nearly three orders of magnitude are demonstrated. In addition, the capturing process can be inhibited by lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which gives further evidence of the binding mechanism. Furthermore, antibacterial assay with antibacterial drugs (amoxicillin and vancomycin) demonstrates that the approach enables to detect antibacterial efficiency as well as derive MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) plots.