On-Site Dual Detection of Airborne Acinetobacter baumannii and Its Carbapenem-Resistant Gene blaOXA-23 Using a One-Pot Visual LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a-Based Platform

<i>Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii)</i>, a very common pathogen, poses a significant public health threat due to its antibiotic resistance and long survival in healthcare environments. Both <i>A. baumannii</i> and carbapenem-resistant <i>A. baumannii</i> (CRAB) can spread through the air, increasing infection risks. Therefore, monitoring their presence in the air is of great significance, especially in hospitals. Herein, we developed a Chelex-100-LAMP-CRISPR/Cas12a (CLC) platform including DNA release and nucleic acid test. Combined with a wet cyclone sampler, the platform can detect airborne <i>A. baumannii</i> and its most common carbapenem-resistant gene, <i>bla</i>_OXA-23, within 70 min. This CLC platform has also been proven to have a detection limit of 6 × 10² CFU of CRAB per test through simulated air samples. Moreover, this platform was also used to test five actual air samples from a tertiary hospital, and the results achieved perfect concordance with sequencing data, validating the platform's accuracy and reliability. Therefore, the CLC platform showed great potential for the rapid, on-site detection of airborne <i>A. baumannii</i> and its carbapenem-resistant gene <i>bla</i>_OXA-23, offering a valuable tool for infection control in healthcare environments.