Global aquaculture exceeds USD 1 trillion annually, serving as a key sector for food security and rural revitalization. However, Vibrio bacteria are major pathogens in aquaculture, causing Vibriosis disease with a mortality rate of up to 90% within 2-3 days, resulting in billions of dollars in losses worldwide and threatening food safety via contaminated products. Conventional detection requires 3-5 days, with additional sterilization steps, making it impossible to control the spread of Vibrio infection.
Addressing this challenge, the Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation Group at the Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. Chen Lingxin and core member Dr. Wu Yixuan, developed edge-satellite-d Au-Ag nanoparticles (ES-AuAgNPs). These NPs possess several unique characteristics, including a Ag-Au alloy, an edge satellite structure, and antimicrobial components. These properties endow ES-AuAgNPs with improved peroxidase (POD)-like catalytic, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and antibacterial activities. By utilizing these triple-performance of ES-AuAgNPs and modified specific aptamer probe, designed a portable, modular, and centimeter-sized platform for simultaneously screening, validating, and eliminating pandemic marine Vibrio bacteria: parahaemolyticus, vulnificus, and alginolyticus. Wherein, POD-like catalytic-based colorimetric capacity can rapidly screen the presence of these bacteria through visible color change, and SERS-based detection validates bacterial identity with multiplexing capability. Meanwhile, the inherent antibacterial properties of ES-AuAgNPs ensure the effective elimination of detected bacteria. Remarkable performance was achieved in rapid screening (2 minutes), sensitive validation (limit of detection, ~ 50 CFU/mL), and efficient antimicrobility (45 min, 100%). The ES-AuAgNPs constructed platform is believed to improve aquaculture management by seamlessly analyzing and eliminating bacteria.
Novelty 1: One-step synthesis of a three-in-one nanomaterial. Conventional multifunctional nanomaterials often suffer from a time-consuming and multi-step synthesis process or a drawback in unbalanced performance (e.g., strong antibacterial activity that compromises detection sensitivity). We utilized the tannic acid ligand’s strong reduction ability and the PVP’s selective blocking property for the one-step synthesis of ES-AuAgNPs. The ES-AuAgNPs exhibit three key functions. (i) Strong peroxidase-like (POD) activity for rapid visual detection. (ii) enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) from the edge satellite structure for ultrasensitive molecular fingerprint spectroscopy detection. (iii) Internal (Ag-core) and external (organochlorine deposition) dual antibacterial ingredients. Compared to other conventional nanomaterials, ES-AuAgNPs exhibited 5 times the peroxidase activity, 100 times the SERS intensity, and 10 times the antibacterial efficiency, establishing a robust material foundation for integrated platforms.
Novelty 2: Seamless “screen-identify-eliminate” workflow achieving a 47-minute closed-loop control. Leveraging the multifunctionality of ES-AuAgNPs, the integrated platform disrupts traditional segmented workflows by linking detection and sterilization. (i) 2-minute rapid screening on-site via POD-based visible color change (blue negative, colorless positive), enabling early risk pool identification. (ii) high-sensitivity SERS identification detecting as low as 50 CFU/mL, discriminating parahaemolyticus, vulnificus, and alginolyticus with molecular fingerprinting, providing precise targets to avoid antibiotic misuse and resistance. (iii) 45-minute in situ bactericidal action with no sample transfer or contamination risk, achieving 100% sterilization and interrupting transmission chains, completing the closed-loop from risk detection to elimination.
Figure 1. (a) Principle of ES-AuAgNPs synthetization. (b) TEM images of ES-AuAgNPs fabricated with various HAuCl4 concentrations. (c) SEM image of the optimized ES-AuAgNPs, along with EDS mapping and electric field simulation.
Figure 2. Multi-performance evaluation of ES-AuAgNPs: (a) Comparison with various nanomaterials, (b) POD performance evaluation, (c) SERS performance evaluation, (d) antibacterial performance evaluation, and (e) stability evaluation.
Figure 3. Construction of the Vibrio “screening-identification-sterilization” integrated platform. (a) Components, (b) integrated process and (c) analytical principle.
Figure 4. Three-function evaluation of the Vibrio “screening-identification-sterilization” integrated platform. (a) POD-based colorimetric screening function, (b and c) SERS-based identification function, and (d) sterilization function.
This paper is published in the Advanced Science (JCR Q1 rank 93.5%, impact factor = 14.1). The first author is Dr. Wu Yixuan from Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research. The corresponding authors include Researcher Chen Lingxin (Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, China), Professor Jeabum Choo (Chung-Ang University, Korea), and Dr. Yang Qian (Shaoxing University, China). The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Research Foundation of Korea.
Article：
Yixuan Wu, Jiadong Chen, Liyan Bi, Zhiyang Zhang, Xiaoyan Wang, Longwen Fu, Qian Yang, Jaebum Choo, and Lingxin Chen. Multifunctional Edged-Satellite AuAg Nanoparticles-Based Integration Platform for Screening, Validation, and Elimination of Vibrio Bacteria. Advance Science 2025, e16240.
