A novel bacterial imprinted polymers- electrochemiluminescent sensor for Lactobacillus salivarius detection

The abundance of intestinal probiotics including Lactobacillus salivarius is an indictor to reflect the human health condition. Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) has shown extraordinary potential in bioanalysis due to its fast response. Herein, we developed a novel ECL sensor for rapid probiotics detection based on the bacterial imprinted polymers (BIP) technology. Through the different electropolymerization processes of dopamine, the BIP-ECL sensor was constructed with two functional parts, including ECL luminous layer and BIP nanostructure layer. The first polydopamine (PDA) luminous layer was served as the ECL emitter, which can react with the co-reactants of H2O2. The BIP nanostructure layer was prepared via dopamine electropolymerization by in situ removal of the bacterial templates. The BIP-ECL sensor dramatically improved the analytical performance for the bacteria detection. As a result, a limit of quantitation (LOQ) low to 101 CFU mL−1 was achieved with a linear range from 101 CFU mL−1 to 107 CFU mL−1. Moreover, the sensor displayed remarkable specific identification of bacterial serotypes. The new BIP-ECL sensing strategy provides a universal approach for selective and rapid detection of bacteria.