Mesoporous Tungsten Oxides with Crystalline Framework for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

Journal of the American Chemical Society

5 years ago

Mesoporous Tungsten Oxides with Crystalline Framework for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Foodborne Pathogens

Xiaowei Cheng, Yonghui Deng, Yong Zhao, Dongyuan Zhao, Minghong Wu, Hongping Liu, Abdulaziz Alghamdi, Jing Xie, Yongheng Zhu, Ahmed A. Elzatahry, Haijiao Zhang, Haiquan Liu, Pengcheng Xu, Junhao Ma

Foodborne pathogens like Listeria monocytogenes can cause various illnesses and pose a serious threat to public health. They produce species-specific microbial volatile organic compounds, i.e., the biomarkers, making it possible to indirectly measure microbial contamination in foodstuff. Herein, highly ordered mesoporous tungsten oxides with high surface areas and tunable pores have been synthesized and used as sensing materials to achieve an exceptionally sensitive and selective detection of trace Listeria monocytogenes. The mesoporous WO₃-based chemiresistive sensors exhibit a rapid response, superior sensitivity, and highly selective detection of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone. The chemical mechanism study reveals that acetic acid is the main product generated by the surface catalytic reaction of the biomarker molecule over mesoporous WO₃. Furthermore, by using the mesoporous WO₃-based sensors, a rapid bacteria detection was achieved, with a high sensitivity, a linear relationship in a broad range, and a high specificity for Listeria monocytogenes. Such a good gas sensing performance foresees the great potential application of mesoporous WO₃-based sensors for fast and effective detection of microbial contamination for the safety of food, water safety and public health.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b04221

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.7b04221