The LED-LSPR platform is a fast and mobile (in-situ) detection technology for the detection of pathogens in water samples, based on the optical properties of precious metal nanoparticles and a multispectral optical readout using LEDs as a light source.
The technology was developed in the joint research project “NanoWater” within the German-Israeli-Water technology Cooperation. (Project-ID: 02WIL1521)
The principle of the LED LSPR technology (LSPR = localized surface plasmon resonance) is based on the optical properties of plasmonic nanoarrays, which consist of nanoparticle spots on a chip. The spots can be equipped with different receptors for the pathogen DNA. In the presence of a pathogen, the resonance (color) of the corresponding spots changes. This resonance shift can be read out spectrally and spatially resolved with the LED-based detector. By changing the exposure wavelength by switching on individual LEDs, an intensity map of the detected field is created. After assembling the 6 LED-induced images, the spectrum in each pixel of the field can be determined on the computer. After the pathogen DNA amplified from the water sample binds specifically to one of the receptors, a resonance shift can be detected for this spot and thus the pathogen can be identified. In this way, several different pathogens can also be detected simultaneously.
The system is the result of a unique combination of different research areas of water microbiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and plasmonic nanoarray technologies. The technology will enable rapid (<6h) on-site detection and identification of various aquatic pathogens, as well as reveal the source of microbial contamination.
