Heat shock mediated labelling of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with quantum dots

Biocompatible nanoparticles are good candidates to label bacteria for imaging and diagnosis purposes. A high labeling efficiency reduces the concentration of nanoparticles required for labeling and allows the labeled bacteria to be tracked for longer periods. This report explores the optimal labeling strategy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, with quantum dots. Three strategies including direct incubation, calcium chloride treatment, and heat shock are compared and the labeling efficiency is assessed through fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Of the three, heat shock is finally selected due to its comparable labeling efficiency and simplicity. Through the assay of the respiration rate of bacteria together with morphology analysis, the heat shock process does not show any negative effect over the cells activity even at sub-toxic concentrations.