Rapid detection of Salmonella typhimurium in chicken carcass wash water using an immunoelectrochemical method.

An immunoelectrochemical method coupled with immunomagnetic separation was developed for rapid detection of Salmonella Typhimurium in chicken carcass wash water. Samples of chicken carcass wash water were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium at different cell numbers. Possible nonspecified inhibitors in the wash water were minimized by filtration and centrifugation. An approximately 9.4% loss of Salmonella cells was found after filtration (P < 0.01). The samples were mixed with anti-Salmonella-coated magnetic beads (ASCMB) and alkaline phosphatase-labeled anti-Salmonella (APLAS) to form ASCMB-Salmonella-APLAS conjugates. The conjugates were separated from the solution using a magnetic separator and then incubated with phenylphosphate substrate to produce phenol. The number of Salmonella was determined by measuring the phenol concentration using an amperometric tyrosinase carbon paste electrode in a flow injection analysis system. Under optimized parameters (1 mM MgCl2, 0.2 microg/ml APLAS, and 1 mM phenylphosphate in pH 7.0 Tris buffer solution), Salmonella Typhimurium in chicken carcass wash water could be identified and enumerated within 2.5 h with a detection limit of 5 x 10(3) CFU/ml. A linear relationship on a log-log scale was found between Salmonella cell number and the peak current ratio for Salmonella concentrations ranging from 10(3) to 10(7) CFU/ml (R2 = 0.963). The peak currents of multibacteria samples, containing Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Campylobacter jejuni, were not significantly different from Salmonella-only samples (P > 0.01).