Turntable paper-based device to detect Escherichia coli

Abstract

Escherichia coli has been known to cause a variety of infectious diseases. The conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a well-known method widely used to diagnose a variety of infectious diseases. This method is expensive and requires considerable time and effort to conduct and complete multiple integral steps. We previously proposed the use of paper-based ELISA to rapidly detect the presence of E. coli. This approach has demonstrated utility for point-of-care (POC) urinary tract infection diagnoses. Paper-based ELISA, while advantageous, still requires the execution of several procedural steps. Here, we discuss the design and experimental implementation of a turntable paper-based device to simplify the paper-based ELISA protocols for the detection of E. coli. In this process, antibodies or reagents are preloaded onto zones of a paper-based device and allowed to dry before use. We successfully used this device to detect E. coli with a detection limit of 105 colony-forming units (colony-forming unit [CFU])/mL.