Label-free screening of foodborne Salmonella using surface plasmon resonance imaging

It is estimated that 95% of the foodborne infections are caused by 15 major pathogens. Therefore, rapid and effective multiplex screening techniques for these pathogens with improved efficiencies could benefit public health at lower costs. Surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) provides a label-free, multiplex analytical platform for pathogen screening. In this study, we have developed a singleplex immunoassay for Salmonella to evaluate the potential of SPRi in pathogen detection. Anti-Salmonella and control ligands were arrayed onto the SPRi sensor chip in a microarray format. The influences of ligand immobilization pH and concentration were optimized, and a pause flow protocol was adopted to improve assay rapidity and sensitivity. The method shows good specificity against 6 non-Salmonella species and was able to detect 5 of 6 Salmonella serotypes, including 3 serotypes most frequently associated with outbreaks. Limits of detection were found to be 2.1 × 10^{6} CFU/mL in phosphate-buffered saline and 7.6 × 10^{6} CFU/mL in the presence of chicken rinse matrix with 8.9 × 10^{7} CFU/mL of indigenous microflora. The condition of antibody array regeneration was optimized for sequential sample injections. Finally, the SPRi immunoassay was used to detect Salmonella directly from artificially spiked chicken carcass rinse samples. As low as 6.8 CFU/mL of Salmonella could be detected after overnight enrichment in buffered peptone water, demonstrating the potential in streamlined pathogen screening with minimal sample preparation and without detection labels. Graphical abstract ᅟ.