Carbon nanotubes as in vivo bacterial probes

Neelkanth M. Bardhan, Debadyuti Ghosh and Angela M. Belcher ()
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Neelkanth M. Bardhan: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Debadyuti Ghosh: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Angela M. Belcher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract With the rise in antibiotic-resistant infections, non-invasive sensing of infectious diseases is increasingly important. Optical imaging, although safer and simpler, is less developed than other modalities such as radioimaging, due to low availability of target-specific molecular probes. Here we report carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as bacterial probes for fluorescence imaging of pathogenic infections. We demonstrate that SWNTs functionalized using M13 bacteriophage (M13-SWNT) can distinguish between F′-positive and F′-negative bacterial strains. Moreover, through one-step modification, we attach an anti-bacterial antibody on M13-SWNT, making it easily tunable for sensing specific F′-negative bacteria. We illustrate detection of Staphylococcus aureus intramuscular infections, with ~3.4 × enhancement in fluorescence intensity over background. SWNT imaging presents lower signal spread ~0.08 × and higher signal amplification ~1.4 × , compared with conventional dyes. We show the probe offers greater ~5.7 × enhancement in imaging of S. aureus infective endocarditis. These biologically functionalized, aqueous-dispersed, actively targeted, modularly tunable SWNT probes offer new avenues for exploration of deeply buried infections.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5918

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