M-13 bacteriophage based structural color sensor for detecting antibiotics

Color sensor systems that exploit the advantages of M-13 bacteriophage have been shown to be potentially useful for detection of hazardous materials. The properties of M-13 bacteriophage can be systemically modified to impart target-specific selectivity and sensitivity using the phage display technique. Here, we describe a structural color-based sensor that utilizes genetically engineered M-13 bacteriophage to discriminate different types of antibiotics. An M-13 bacteriophage based structural color matrix was fabricated using a simple pulling technique by self-assembly of M-13 bacteriophage. When exposed to organic solvent, M-13 bacteriophage bundles promptly swell and promote distinct structural color change. Color sensors composed of M-13 bacteriophage genetically engineered to possess WHW peptide motifs clearly discriminated three different types of antibiotics, which was based on the color analysis of sensor using principal component analysis. Our sensing approach based on M-13 bacteriophage could be a promising sensor technique such as an environmental monitoring system.