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A fluorescent sensor array based on antibiotic-stabilized metal nanoclusters for the multiplex detection of bacteria

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Abstract

To address the need for facile, rapid detection of pathogens in water supplies, a fluorescent sensing array platform based on antibiotic-stabilized metal nanoclusters was developed for the multiplex detection of pathogens. Using five common antibiotics, eight different nanoclusters (NCs) were synthesized including ampicillin stabilized copper NCs, cefepime stabilized gold and copper NCs, kanamycin stabilized gold and copper NCs, lysozyme stabilized gold NCs, and vancomycin stabilized gold/silver and copper NCs. Based on the different interaction of each NC with the bacteria strains, unique patterns were generated. Various machine learning algorithms were employed for pattern discernment, among which the artificial neural networks proved to have the highest performance, with an accuracy of 100%. The developed prediction model performed well on an independent test dataset and on real samples gathered from drinking water, tap water and the Anzali Lagoon water, with prediction accuracy of 96.88% and 95.14%, respectively. This work demonstrates how generic antibiotics can be implemented for NC synthesis and used as recognition elements for pathogen detection. Furthermore, it displays how merging machine learning techniques can elevate sensitivity of analytical devices.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from Council of University of Tehran.

Funding

This study was funded by the Council of University of Tehran.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanobiosensors Lab, Department of Life Science Engineering, Faculty of New Sciences and Technologies, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1439817435, Iran

    Maryam Mousavizadegan & Morteza Hosseini

  2. Institute of Health Research Pere Virgili, Reus, Spain

    Mahsa N. Sheikholeslami

  3. Center of Excellence in Electrochemistry, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, 1439817435, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Ganjali

Authors
  1. Maryam Mousavizadegan
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  2. Morteza Hosseini
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  3. Mahsa N. Sheikholeslami
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  4. Mohammad Reza Ganjali
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Contributions

Maryam Mousavizadegan: conceptualization, methodology, designing the analysis, visualization, data curation, ML model development, writing—original draft, review and editing. Mahsa Naghavi Sheikholeslami: data curation, ML model development, writing—review and editing. Morteza Hosseini: conceptualization, methodology, project administration and supervision, funding acquisition. Mohammad Reza Ganjali: writing—review and editing, project advisor. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Morteza Hosseini.

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Mousavizadegan, M., Hosseini, M., Sheikholeslami, M.N. et al. A fluorescent sensor array based on antibiotic-stabilized metal nanoclusters for the multiplex detection of bacteria. Microchim Acta 191, 293 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00604-024-06374-5

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