Potential of fluorophore labeled aptamers for Pseudomonas aeruginosa detection in drinking water

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been considered as a representative pathogenic bacteria in drinking water. In order to detect P. aeruginosa, aptamers were utilized in this study. In particular, fluorescein isothiocyannate (FITC) and quantum dot (QD) were used for aptamer labeling. FITC-labeled aptamers showed higher binding capacity with optimal incubation time of 30 min compared to QD-labeled aptamers. However, incubation speed did not have any effect on the binding capacity of FITC-labeled aptamers to bacteria. Aptamer-binding capacity was measured according to varying cell concentrations of 0, 10, 100, and 1000 cells/mL. As a result, the limit of detection, limit of quantification, and limit of linearity of P. aeruginosa were 5. 07, 5. 64, and 100 cells/mL, respectively. The low detection limit shows the fluorophore-labeled aptamer potential to detect P. aeruginosa labeling in the field. © 2013 The Korean Society for Applied Biological Chemistry.