title: Development of an evanescent-field fibre optic sensor for Escherichia coli O157:H7.
abstract: An intensity-modulated fibre optic sensor was developed for Escherichia coli O157:H7. The interaction between the whole natural bacteria and the guided lightwave was carried out by means of evanescent-field coupling. A correlation between optical response and the current number of bacteria was achieved. The device sensitivity had been calibrated for initial number of bacteria (N(0)) from 10-800. The sensor sensitivity was 0.016 (+/-0.001) dB/h/N(0). The sensing mechanism starts together with the log phase leading the present sensor response to be five to ten times faster than conventional bacteriological techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sanitation and Environmental Health, National School for Public Health, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. aldo@ensp.fiocruz.br
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Werneck
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002138:Calibration; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008027:Light; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity