Determination of foodborne pathogenic bacteria by multiplex PCR-microchip capillary electrophoresis with genetic algorithm-support vector regression optimization

A rapid and sensitive method based on microchip capillary electrophoresis with condition optimization of genetic algorithm-support vector regression (GA-SVR) was developed and applied to simultaneous analysis of multiplex PCR products of four foodborne pathogenic bacteria. Four pairs of oligonucleotide primers were designed to exclusively amplify the targeted gene of Vibrio parahemolyticus, Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, Shigella and the quadruplex PCR parameters were optimized. At the same time, GA-SVR was employed to optimize the separation conditions of DNA fragments in microchip capillary electrophoresis. The proposed method was applied to simultaneously detect the multiplex PCR products of four foodborne pathogenic bacteria under the optimal conditions within 8 min. The levels of detection were as low as 1.2 × 102 CFU mL−1 of Vibrio parahemolyticus, 2.9 × 102 CFU mL−1 of Salmonella, 8.7 × 101 CFU mL−1 of E. coli O157:H7 and 5.2 × 101 CFU mL−1 of Shigella, respectively. The relative standard deviation of migration time was in the range of 0.74–2.09%. The results demonstrated that the good resolution and less analytical time were achieved due to the application of the multivariate strategy. This study offers an efficient alternative to routine foodborne pathogenic bacteria detection in a fast, reliable, and sensitive way.