A research team led by Professor Kun-Ho Seo of the College of Veterinary Medicine developed a sensitive and convenient platform to detect Cronobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula. Typically acquired through contaminated powdered infant formula, the pathogen is life-threatening to neonates. In a two-stage, label-free aptasensing platform, C. sakazakii depletes aptamers from the test solution, which in turn induces aggregation of gold nanoparticles in salt and an accompanying color change from red to purple. The platform is expected to create new opportunities to detect bacteria in other real-world situations.
The research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea and was published on the online version of Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical in an article titled “Two-Stage Label-Free Aptasensing Platform for Rapid Detection of Cronobacter Sakazakii in Powdered Infant Formula” with graduate students Mr. Hong-Seok Kim and Young-Ji Kim listed as the first and second authors, respectively. The results will also be printed on the February 2017 issue of the journal.