Digital PCR Chip for Multiple Quantitative Detection of Foodborne Bacteria

The presence of food-borne pathogenic bacteria poses a severe threat to human health. Therefore, it is essential to develop effective methods for bacteria detection. Herein, a method based on digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) chip was developed for rapid and effective detection of three kinds of common food-borne bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes). Driven by centrifugal force, samples could be easily loaded and digitized in 15 min. PCR results showed that the positive microchambers in the chip could be identified after 25 thermal cycles. The chip had advantages in the quantitative detection of bacterial nucleic acid at low concentration, which could effectively avoid false negative results. Multiple detection of bacterial samples with concentration of 10(5)-10(8) CFU/mL could also be realized using this chip. Compared with fluorescent quantitative PCR, this method had higher accuracy and sensitivity, especially for detection of targets at low concentration.