Hybrid silicananoparticles for luminescent spore detection

Abstract

Lanthanide luminescence is a common method for the detection of dipicolinic acid (DPA), a chemical marker for bacterial spores. In this paper we report the development of silica nanoparticle based luminescent sensors for DPA detection. The sensors consist of three different modified EDTA–Tb complexes immobilized on 37 nm solid silica nanoparticles. The use of a nanoparticle platform also allows for the incorporation of an internal reference which eliminates the need for instrument-specific calibration curves for DPA quantification in an analyte. Limits of detection on the order of nanomolar concentrations can be achieved using these nanoparticle based DPA luminescence sensors.