Evaluation of SERS Nanoparticles to Detect Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis

Purpose: This research evaluated five types of nanoparticles to develop a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for the rapid detection of two Bacillus species (Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis) that are commonly found on fresh produce, which can cause food poisoning. Methods: Bacterial concentrations were adjusted to a constant turbidity, and a total of 30 μL of each Bacillus cell suspension was prepared for each nanoparticle. A point-scan Raman system with laser light source of wavelength 785 nm was used to obtain SERS data. Results: There was no qualitative difference in the SERS data of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis for any of the five nanoparticles. Three gold nanoparticles, stabilized in either citrate buffer or ethanol, showed subtle differences in Raman intensities of two Bacillus species at 877.7 cm-1. Conclusions: Among the three types of nanoparticles, the gold nanoparticles stabilized in citrate buffer showed the lowest standard deviation, followed by gold nanoparticles stabilized in ethanol. This result supports the potential application of gold nanoparticles for SERS-based detection of B. cereus and B. thuringiensis.