Detection of PCR products of Escherichia coli O157 : H7 in human stool samples using surface plasmon resonance (SPR)

A method for the rapid detection of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli O1 57:H7 in stools was evaluated. Strains possessing Shiga toxin-2 (stx-2) gen es were isolated from stool samples and amplified using oligonucleotide pri mers. Stools spiked with cultured E. coli O157:H7 (strain 298 or strain 164 6) were detected to be polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive at 10(2) cf u per 0.1 g of stool. Stool samples from patients and healthy carriers show ed a high correlation between positive results for a PCR and the presence o f verotoxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, confirmed by isolation of serotype O 157:H7 on sorbitol MacConkey medium (10 of 10 stool samples). These PCR pro ducts could be detected using a BIAcore(TM) 2000 surface plasmon resonance device using peptide nucleic acid as a sensor probe. In this report we use this method for the rapid detection of DNA from significant pathogenic orga nisms. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.