title: Biosensors for the Detection of Food Pathogens.
abstract: Food pathogens frequently cause foodborne diseases. There is a need to rapidly identify the source of the bacteria in order to contain their spread and epidemics. A pre-enrichment culture or a direct culture on agar plate are standard microbiological methods. In this review, we present an update on alternative molecular methods to nucleic acid-based detection for species identification. Biosensor-based methods rely on the recognition of antigen targets or receptors by antibodies, aptamers or high-affinity ligands. The captured antigens may be then directly or indirectly detected through an antibody or high-affinity and high-specificity recognition molecule. Various different detection methods are discussed, from label-free sensors and immunosensors to fluorescence-based ones. Each method shows advantages and disadvantages in terms of equipment, sensitivity, simplicity and cost-effectiveness. Finally, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices are introduced briefly, with the potential to be fast, sensitive and useful for on-site bacteria detection in food processing laboratories to check potential contamination by sample monitoring combined with a rapid pre-enrichment step.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Productions, National Research Council, ISPA-CNR, Via Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy. palmiro.poltronieri@ispa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Palmiro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Poltronieri
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Productions, National Research Council, ISPA-CNR, Via Lecce-Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy. valeria.mezzolla@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mezzolla
authors.affiliation: NNL, Institute of Nanoscience-CNR, Via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce, Italy. elisabetta.primiceri@unisalento.it.|Department of Mathematics and Physics "Ennio De Giorgi", University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce, Italy. elisabetta.primiceri@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Primiceri
authors.affiliation: NNL, Institute of Nanoscience-CNR, Via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce, Italy. giuseppe.maruccio@unisalento.it.|Department of Mathematics and Physics "Ennio De Giorgi", University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce, Italy. giuseppe.maruccio@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maruccio
keywords: antibody chips; detection methods; food pathogens; lab-on-a-chip; labelling; molecular recognition; rapid identification