New low-cost portable biosensor to detect E. coli in water samples

A new paper entitled “Functionalized Microwave Biosensor for Rapid, Reagent-Free Detection of E. coli in Water Samples” was published in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. It is the result of a collaboration between researchers of the University of Waterloo’s Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, the School of Pharmacy, and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. In the paper a novel, cost-effective microwave biosensor for the detection of E. coli O157:H7 in water samples is presented. The microwave sensor, coated with a thin layer of gold, is fabricated on a printed circuit board (PCB) board, functionalized with antibodies specific to E. coli. The field-deployable biosensor exhibits high sensing performance with verified specificity and sensitivity and represents an attractive alternative to traditional methods that require transport of samples to centralized lab facilities. The paper can be accessed at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.117334