Kumar J, Xu M, Li YA, You SW, Doherty BM, Gardiner. Capacitive Biosensor for Rapid Detection of Avian (H5N1) Influenza and E. coli in Aerosols. ACS Sens. 2025 Feb 21
Airborne transmission via aerosols is a dominant route for the transmission of respiratory pathogens, including avian H5N1 influenza A virus and E. coli bacteria. Rapid and direct detection of respiratory pathogen aerosols has been a long-standing technical challenge. Herein, we develop a novel label-free capacitive biosensor using an interlocked Prussian blue (PB)/graphene oxide (GO) network on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for direct detection of avian H5N1 and E. coli. A single-step electro-co-deposition process grows GO branches on the SPCE surface, while the PB nanocrystals simultaneously decorate around the GO branches, resulting in an ultrasensitive capacitive response at nanofarad levels. We tested the biosensor for H5N1 concentrations from 2.0 viral RNA copies/mL to 1.6 × 105 viral RNA copies/mL, with a limit of detection (LoD) of 56 viral RNA copies/mL. We tested it on E. coli for concentrations ranging from 2.0 bacterial cells/mL to 1.8 × 104 bacterial cells/mL, with a LoD of 5 bacterial cells/mL. The detection times for both pathogens were under 5 min. When integrated with a custom-built wet cyclone bioaerosol sampler, our biosensor could detect and quasi-quantitatively estimate H5N1 and E. coli concentrations in air with spatial resolutions of 93 viral RNA copies/m3 and 8 bacterial cells/m3, respectively. The quasi-quantification method, based on dilution and binary detection (positive/negative), achieved an overall accuracy of >90% for pathogen-laden aerosol samples. This biosensor is adaptable for multiplexed detection of other respiratory pathogens, making it a versatile tool for real-time airborne pathogen monitoring and risk assessment.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- [preprint]Mass mortality at penguin mega-colonies due to avian cholera confounds H5N1 HPAIV surveillance in Antarctica 11 hours ago
- [preprint]How the 1918-1920 Influenza Pandemic Spread Across Switzerland - Spatial Patterns and Determinants of Incidence and Mortality 11 hours ago
- Influenza C Virus in Children With Acute Bronchiolitis and Febrile Seizures 15 hours ago
- Feasibility and Safety of Aerosolized Influenza Virus Challenge in Humans Using Two Modern Delivery Systems 15 hours ago
- Avian Influenza Weekly Update # 1026: 12 December 2025 1 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


