Detection of pathogenic bacteria in food samples using highly-dispersed carbon particles.

There is an unmet need for detection methods that can rapidly and sensitively detect food borne pathogens. A flow through immunoassay system utilizing highly dispersed carbon particles and an amperometric technique has been developed and optimized. A sandwich immunoassay format was utilized in which pathogenic cells were captured by antibodies immobilized onto activated carbon particles, and labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) conjugated antibodies.