Biomems and nanotechnology-based approaches for rapid detection of biological entities

In recent years, the areas of Bio-Microelectromechanical Systems (BioMEMS) and nanotechnology have gained a high level of prominence and have become almost inseparable with biological applications including detection, diagnostics, therapeutics and tissue engineering. This article reviews some of the current state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research from these fields, especially focusing on rapid detection of pathogens and microorganisms, a critical area of importance to food safety, clinical diagnostics and related applications. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Food microbiology has been an inseparable part of food quality monitoring and control. However, all the diagnostic techniques in a microbiology laboratory are time and labor intensive. As on date the principal requirement of the food industry is the fast, accurate and easy to handle devices which have the potential of point of care detection. A lot of research demonstrating a high level of synergism between microbiology, nanotechnology and microelectronic processing has been directed towards the rapid detection and Corresponding author. TEL: 765-496-6229; FAX: 765-494-6441; EMAIL: [email protected] Journal of Rapid Methods & Automation in Microbiology 15 (2007) 1–32. All Rights Reserved. © 2007, The Author(s) Journal compilation © 2007, Blackwell Publishing 1 analysis of food borne pathogens in the last decade. Devices like “petri-dish on a chip” can perform high speed fully automated culture, growth and analysis of food samples with trace quantities of pathogenic cells. Impedance microbiology can be performed on a chip scale to investigate cell viability and growth with enhanced sensitivity. DNA micro-arrays is another area which is an offshoot of this synergistic research and is widely used by molecular biology laboratories for diagnostic research. Micro-cantilevers, which are diving board type structures at the microscopic length scale are successfully can be used for monitoring the presence of pathogenic cells and viruses within the local environment of a food processing or packaging center. The article reviews some of the most state of the art research in this direction.