Monitoring Pseudomonas aeruginosa in culture plates using embedded electrochemical sensors

Described is the fabrication of a disposable electrochemical assay, embedded in solid growth media agar. By applying a unique set of potentials and measuring current change using electrochemical sensors, we were able to selectively detect the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bacterial cultures of P. aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus were grown on these plates for a period of 48 hours at room temperature. The maximum currents from square-wave voltammetric scans showed the production of redox active molecules by P. aeruginosa after 15 hours of growth. This simple disposable electrochemical approach for detecting P. aeruginosa could have implications for diagnosing the presence of P. aeruginosa infections in limited resource areas.