Nanoplasmonic sensor for foodborne pathogens detection. Towards development of ISO‐SERS methodology for taxonomic affiliation of Campylobacter spp

According to EU summary report on zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food‐borne outbreaks in 2017, Campylobacter was the most commonly reported gastrointestinal bacterial pathogen in humans in the EU. Unfortunately, the standard methods for the detection of thermotolerant Campylobacter spp. in foods are time‐consuming. Additionally, the qualified staff is obligatory. For this reason, new methods of pathogens detection are needed. The present work demonstrates that surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is a reliable and fast method for detection of Campylobacter spp. in food samples. The proposed method combines the SERS measurements performed on an Ag/Si substrate with two initial steps of the ISO standard procedure. Finally, the principal component analysis (PCA) allows for statistical classification of the studied bacteria. By applying the proposed ISO‐SERS‐PCA method in the case of Campylobacter bacteria the total detection time may be reduced from 7 to 8 days required by ISO method to 3 to 4 days in the case of SERS‐based approach. Digestive tract diseases are a real bane of everyday life and can occur to virtually anyone in everyday life. One of the factors that, among other things, can cause really severe diarrhea is the underrated Salmonella rival—a gram‐negative bacterium from the Campylobacter genus. In order to accelerate the diagnosis of this infection, especially dangerous among children, we have developed a method of identification from food samples based on Surface‐Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and implemented it into the existing ISO procedure.