The detection of bacterial pathogens plays an important role in many biomedical applications, including clinical diagnostics, food and water safety, and biosecurity. Most current bacterial detection technologies, however, are unsuitable for use in resource-limited settings where the highest disease burdens often exist. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop portable, user-friendly biosensors capable of rapid detection of multiple pathogens in situ. We report a microfluidic chip for multiplexed detection of bacterial cells that uses antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with species-specific targeting and binding capabilities. The AMPs are immobilized onto an electrical impedance microsensor array and serve as biorecognition elements for bacterial cell detection. Characterization of peptide immobilization on the sensors revealed robust surface binding via cysteine-gold interactions and vertical alignment relative to the sensor surface. Samples containing Streptococcus mutans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were loaded in the chip, and both microorganisms were detected at minimum concentrations of 10⁵ cfu/mL within 25 min. Measurements performed in a variety of solutions revealed that high-conductivity solutions produced the largest impedance values. By integrating a highly specific bacterial cell capture scheme with rapid electrical detection, this device demonstrates great potential as a next-generation, point-of-care diagnostic platform for the detection of disease-causing pathogenic agents.

We present a compact mobile phone platform for rapid, quantitative biomolecular detection. This system consists of an embedded circuit for signal processing and data analysis, and disposable microfluidic chips for fluidic handling and biosensing. Capillary flow is employed for sample loading, processing, and pumping to enhance operational portability and simplicity. Graphical step-by-step instructions displayed on the phone assists the operator through the detection process. After the completion of each measurement, the results are displayed on the screen for immediate assessment and the data is automatically saved to the phone's memory for future analysis and transmission. Validation of this device was carried out by detecting Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2), an important biomarker for malaria, with a lower limit of detection of 16 ng mL(-1) in human serum. The simple detection process can be carried out with two loading steps and takes 15 min to complete each measurement. Due to its compact size and high performance, this device offers immense potential as a widely accessible, point-of-care diagnostic platform, especially in remote and rural areas. In addition to its impact on global healthcare, this technology is relevant to other important applications including food safety, environmental monitoring and biosecurity.