3D-printed microfluidic magnetic preconcentrator for the detection of bacterial pathogen using an ATP luminometer and antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles

•A bacterial preconcentration method is demonstrated.•The method relies on microfluidic device and antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles.•Bacterial concentration is measured by an ATP luminometer.•Spiked blood samples are used to demonstrate its feasibility for the application in clinical samples.

Various types of microfluidic systems have been developed to detect bacterial pathogens. However, most of these require enrichment steps that take at least several hours when detecting bacteria that are present with a low number of cells and, in addition, fabrication requires complicated assembly steps. In this study, we report the development of 3D microfluidic magnetic preconcentrator (3DμFMP) made of plastic via 3D printing without the need for any assembly. 3DμFMP could selectively preconcentrate enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in 100 mL by a factor of 700 within 1 h using antibody-conjugated magnetic nanoparticles (Ab-MNPs). With the combined use of an ATP luminometer, as low as 10 E. coli O157:H7 CFU (colony forming unit)/mL could be detected in blood. These results demonstrate the feasibility of 3DμFMP as a preconcentrator to improve the detection limit of existing bacterial detection systems.

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