Rapid detection of food- and water-borne viruses and bacteria using SERS coupled with nanosubstrates

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on September 6, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Mengshi LinIncludes bibliographical references.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2012."May 2012"[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Food- and water-borne viruses and bacteria pose serious health risks to humans and were associated with many outbreaks worldwide. Rapid, accurate, and nondestructive methods for detection of viruses and bacteria are of great importance to protect public health. In this research, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with gold or silver SERS-active substrates were used to detect and discriminate food- and water-borne viruses and bacteria. Virus strains include norovirus, adenovirus, parvovirus, rotavirus, coronavirus, paramyxovirus, and herpersvirus. Bacterial strains include Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcus faecelis. Our results show that SERS was able to differentiate different viruses and bacteria at the strain level. The detection limit for viruses by SERS coupled with gold substrates could reach a titer of 10[squared], while the detection limit for bacteria by SERS coupled with intracellular nanosilver as a substrate in situ could reach the level of single cells. These results indicate that SERS coupled with nanosubstrates is a promising method for detection and characterization of food- and water-borne virus and bacterial sample.Includes bibliographical references