The detection of pathogenic bacteria remains a challenge for the struggle against biological weapons, nosocomial diseases, and for food safety. In this research, our aim was to develop an easy-to-use electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923. The biosensor was elaborated by the immobilization of anti-S. aureus antibodies using a self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) of 3-Mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). These molecular assemblies were spontaneously formed by the immersion of the substrate in an organic solvent containing the SAMs that can covalently bond to the gold surface. The functionalization of the immunosensor was characterized using two electrochemical techniques: cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Here, the analysis was performed in phosphate buffer with ferro/ferricyanide as the redox probe. The EIS technique was used for affinity assays: antibody-cell binding. A linear relationship between the increment in the electron transfer resistance (R_CT) and the logarithmic value of S. aureus concentration was observed between 10 and 10⁶ CFU/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) was observed at 10 CFU/mL, and the reproducibility was calculated to 8%. Finally, a good selectivity versus E. coli and S. epidermidis was obtained for our developed immunosensor demonstrating its specificity towards only S. aureus.

Proteinases are involved in a multitude of important physiological processes, such as protein metabolism. For this reason, a conductometric enzyme biosensor based on proteinase K was developed using two types of nanoparticles (gold and magnetic). The enzyme was directly adsorbed on negatively charged nanoparticles and then deposited and cross-linked on a planar interdigitated electrode (IDE). The biosensor was characterized with bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a standard protein. Higher sensitivity was obtained using gold nanoparticles. The linear range for BSA determination was then from 0.5 to 10 mg/L with a maximum response of 154 µs. These results are greater than that found without any nanoparticles (maximum response of 10 µs). The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.3 mg/L. An inter-sensor reproducibility of 3.5% was obtained.