Combining culture and microbead-based immunoassay for the early and generic detection of bacteria in platelet concentrates

Molecular detection of bacterial contamination in plasma using magnetic-based enrichment

Bacterial contamination of blood products is a major problem in transfusion medicine, in terms of both morbidity and mortality. Platelets (PLTs) are stored at room temperature (under constant agitation) for more than 5 days, and bacteria can thus grow significantly from a low level to high titers. However, conventional methods like blood culture and lateral flow assay have disadvantages such as long detection time, low sensitivity, and the need for a large volume of blood components. We used real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays with antibiotic-conjugated magnetic nanobeads (MNBs) to detect enriched Gram-positive and -negative bacteria. The MNBs were coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to prevent aggregation by blood components. Over 80% of all bacteria were captured by the MNBs, and the levels of detection were 10¹ colony forming unit [CFU]/mL and 10² CFU/mL for Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, respectively. The detection time is < 3 h using only small volumes of blood components. Thus, compared to conventional methods, real-time PCR using MNBs allows for rapid detection with high sensitivity using only a small volume of blood components.