SERS-Based Lateral Flow Strip Biosensor for Simultaneous Detection of <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i> and <i>Salmonella enterica</i> Serotype Enteritidis

Abstract

Rapid, sensitive, point-of-care detection of bacteria is extremely important in food safety. To address this requirement, we developed a new surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based lateral flow (LF) strip biosensor combined with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) for simultaneous detection of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis. Au^MBA@Ag core-shell nanoparticles were used in this SERS-LF. Highly sensitive quantitative detection is achieved by measuring the characteristic peak intensities of SERS tags. Under optimal conditions, the SERS intensities of MBA at 1077 cm^-1 on test lines are used to measure S. Enteritidis (y = 1980.6x - 539.3, R² = 0.9834) and L. monocytogenes (y = 1696.0x - 844, R² = 0.9889), respectively. The limit of detection is 27 CFU/mL for S. Enteritidis and 19 CFU/mL for L. monocytogenes. Significantly, this SERS-LF has high specificity and applicability in the detection of L. monocytogenes and S. Enteritidis in food samples. Therefore, the SERS-LF is a feasible method for the rapid and quantitative detection of a broad range of bacterial pathogens in real food samples.