Recent advances in optical biosensors for specific detection of E. coli bacteria in food and water

Identifying pathogens in food and drinking water has always been an important task. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of these pathogens found in food and water samples. Although there are several traditional microbiological analysis methods, the most advanced methods are based on biochemistry and molecular biology. New nanotechnology methods based on optical methods provide cheaper, more reliable, faster, and more sensitive platforms for detecting E. coli in a given sample. Various optical methods are available for the detection of E. coli. The most recently developed strategies to develop sensors for detecting E. coli are fluorescence, colorimetric, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, surface plasmon resonance, localized surface plasmon resonance, and chemiluminescence. In addition, optical detection of E. coli in smartphone, paper-based, and portable devices are also considered. It has been shown that these optical nanobiosensors have high sensitivity and low detection limits for E. coli detection.