Effect of surface roughness on performance of magnetoelastic biosensors for the detection of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli are bacteria that must be controlled in the food industry and the hospital sector. Magnetoelastic biosensors offer the promise of rapid identification of these and other harmful antigens. In this work, strips of amorphous Metglas 2826MB3 were cut to size (5 mm x 1 mm) with a microdicing saw and were then coated with thin layers of Cr and Au, as verified by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS). Several sensor surfaces were studied: 1) as-cast strip, wheel side; 2) as-cast strip, free surface; and 3) thinned and polished surface. A layer of cystamine was applied to the Au-covered magnetoelastic substrate, forming a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), followed by antibodies, using a modified Hermanson protocol. The cystamine layer growth was verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The biosensors were exposed to solutions of bacteria and the resonant frequency of the sensors was measured with an impedance analyzer for times up to 100 min. Reductions in the resonant frequency, corresponding to bacteria capture, were measured after optimizing the signal amplitude. For times up to 40 min, high capture rates were observed and thereafter saturation occurred. Saturation values of the frequency shifts were compared with the number of bacteria observed on the sensor using fluorescence microscopy. Parameters associated with capture kinetics were studied for different sensor surfaces. The rough surfaces were found to show a faster response, while the thinned and polished sensors showed the largest frequency shift. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.