Application of Antimicrobial Peptides as Diagnostic Biosensors: Analytical Chemistry

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how emerging infectious diseases could quickly affect the global health and economy. New pathogens with pandemic potential are also expected to appear soon. Moreover, the large use of antibiotics has led to the development of different so-called “superbugs” capable of escaping all of the current antibiotics. In this context, the early and cost-effective detection of pathogens is crucial to avoid the spreading of new pathogens. Here, we present molecular sensors for the recognition of a broad panel of different bacterial species. The detection is based on the use of bacteria-binding peptides (BBPs) in combination with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). We developed a reliable ELISA-like assay that permits us to study the affinity of different BBPs toward some of the most important bacterial pathogens.