In this paper, we used the distinguishable surface
charge and mass of different bacterial strains for label free
detection and differentiation of pathogen through impedance and
magnetohydrodynamic analysis. For isolation of Escherichia coli
and Staphylococcus aureus, functionalized magnetic nanoparticles
(MNPs) were used. Proposed method is aimed at minimizing
extensive chemical preparation and labour intensive conventional
microbiological processing thereby reducing the detection time.
Pathogens isolated from broth cultures using MNPs were subjected
to impedance rate measurement through an arduino based
automated impedance sensor along with differentiation on the
basis of Larmor’s motion through Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
approach. The proposed method evidently reports that the two
bacterial species bind differently to the MNPs giving appreciable
variation in the impedance rate increment for a d.c. electric field
of 250V/m. In addition to this, cross-field drift through 171.4
V/m electric field and a normal magnetic field of 500 Gauss led
to lump formation in S. aureus but had no such effect on E.
coli. The mobility analysis of the two species of bacteria were
also carried out by observing the gyration of bacteria through
naked eyes.
