Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Salmonella via Immunomagnetic Separation and Nanoparticle-Enhanced SPR

The widespread prevalence of <i>Salmonella</i> underscores the urgent need for rapid, sensitive, and reliable detection methods to ensure food safety and protection of public health. In this study, we successfully developed an integrated detection system that combines immunomagnetic separation with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis. This system achieved high capture efficiencies, exceeding 96.04% in phosphate-buffered saline and over 91.66% in milk samples artificially spiked with <i>S.</i> Typhimurium at concentrations below 4.2 × 10⁴ CFU/mL. However, direct SPR detection of the isolated <i>S</i>. Typhimurium showed limited sensitivity, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 4.2 × 10⁷ CFU/mL. Incorporating a sandwich assay with antibody-conjugated gold nanoparticles significantly enhanced sensitivity, lowering the LOD by six orders of magnitude to 4.2 × 10¹ CFU/mL. The whole integrated process, integrating immunomagnetic separation with SPR analysis, was completed within 50 min. These results demonstrate that this AuNP-enhanced SPR platform offers both the rapidity and sensitivity essential for effective monitoring of food safety and traceability in <i>Salmonella</i>-related foodborne outbreaks, particularly in products such as milk.