QCM-based immunosensor for rapid detection of Salmonella Typhimurium in food

Salmonella Typhimurium is one of the main causes of outbreaks and sporadic cases of human gastroenteritis. At present, the rapid detection of this pathogen is a major goal of biosensing technology applied to food safety. In fact, ISO standardized culture method takes up to ten days to provide a reliable response. In this paper, we describe a relatively simple protocol for detecting Salmonella Typhimurium in chicken meat based on a Quartz-Crystal Microbalance (QCM), which leads to a limit of detection (LOD) less than of 10° CFU/mL and requires a pre-enrichment step lasting only 2 h at 37 °C. The reliability of the proposed immunosensor has been demonstrated through the validation of the experimental results with ISO standardized culture method. The cost-effectiveness of the procedure and the rapidity of the QCM-based biosensor in providing the qualitative response make the analytical method described here suitable for applications in food inspection laboratory and throughout the chain production of food industry.