Bacterial Bioaerosol-Specific Capture and In Situ Detection Using an Immune ZIF-8-Melamine Foam-Functionalized Colorimetric Biosensor

Abstract

Bioaerosol infections containing pathogenic viruses and bacteria have resulted in significant economic losses and posed a serious threat to public health, as evidenced by outbreaks of coronavirus disease and avian influenza. Consequently, the sampling and screening of bioaerosols are crucial for the prevention of bioaerosol-borne diseases. In this study, an ultrasensitive biosensor based on zeolitic imidazolate framework-8-melamine foam (ZIF-8-MF) was innovatively developed for the specific capture and in situ detection of bioaerosols. The bacterial bioaerosols were collected by a wet cyclone into phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) buffer at a high collection rate, achieving a satisfactory collection efficiency of ∼80% within 10 min. The target bacteria collected in the PBS buffer were specifically captured and effectively concentrated using immune ZIF-8-MF. The gold@platinum nanozymes (GPNs) were employed to specifically label the captured target bacteria and efficiently amplify the biological signal. And the resulting colorimetric signal was analyzed via a self-developed smartphone application (App). This biosensor demonstrated the capability to detect bioaerosols containing Salmonella typhimurium in the range of 1.6 × 10²–1.6 × 10⁵ CFU/m³ within 1.5 h, with a detection limit as low as 100 CFU/m³. Compared with other bioaerosol detection methods, the biosensor offered advantages such as high collection rate, specific capture, efficient concentration, and in situ detection, positioning it as a highly promising and practical tool for the monitoring of bioaerosols containing diverse pathogenic bacteria.