Methods for detecting bacteria using polymer materials

1. A method for characterizing bacteria, the method comprising:

passing a buffer over and in contact with an imprinted polymer on a substrate;

detecting a first temperature of the substrate;

passing a liquid containing an analyte comprising a first bacteria and a second bacteria over and in contact with the imprinted polymer on the substrate, the imprinted polymer formulated to bind to the first bacteria, wherein a heat transfer property of the imprinted polymer varies based on an amount of the analyte bound thereto, and wherein the first bacteria binds to the imprinted polymer with a higher affinity than the second bacteria;

binding a portion of the first bacteria and the second bacteria of the analyte to the imprinted polymer;

removing at least a portion of the second bacteria from the imprinted polymer;

detecting a second temperature of the substrate; and

calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid based on the first temperature and the second temperature of the substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first bacteria comprises living bacteria, and wherein the second bacteria comprises dead bacteria, the living bacteria and the dead bacteria being of the same species.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first bacteria comprises a first species, and wherein the second bacteria comprises a second species, the second species being an analogue of the first species.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing at least a portion of the second bacteria comprises washing the imprinted polymer.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein washing the imprinted polymer comprises rinsing the imprinted polymer with a phosphate buffered saline solution.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein passing a liquid containing the analyte over an imprinted polymer on a substrate comprises passing the liquid containing the analyte over an imprinted polymer selected from the group consisting of a molecularly imprinted polymer and a surface-imprinted polymer.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising,

detecting a temperature of the substrate before removing the at least a portion of the second bacteria from the imprinted polymer; and

calculating a total concentration of the analyte in the liquid based on the temperature of the substrate before removing the at least a portion of the second bacteria from the imprinted polymer.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting a temperature of the liquid, wherein calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid is based on the temperature of the liquid.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a thermal wave from a heat transfer element through the imprinted polymer.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid comprises calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid based on a phase shift between the thermal wave produced by the heat transfer element and an attenuated thermal wave having passed through the imprinted polymer.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising generating the thermal wave with a controller configured to change a temperature of a temperature modification device thermally coupled to the heat transfer element.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid comprises calculating a concentration of the first bacteria in the liquid based on a difference in amplitude between the thermal wave produced by the heat transfer element and the attenuated thermal wave having passed through the imprinted polymer.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein providing a thermal wave from a heat transfer element through the imprinted polymer comprises changing a frequency of the thermal wave.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein providing a thermal wave from a heat transfer element through the imprinted polymer comprises changing a temperature of the heat transfer element by less than 0.2° C.

15. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising:

passing the liquid over the imprinted polymer after washing the imprinted polymer; and

washing the imprinted polymer at least a second time to remove the at least a second bacteria therefrom.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein washing the imprinted polymer comprises rinsing the imprinted polymer with a phosphate buffered saline solution.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein washing the imprinted polymer to remove the at least a second bacteria therefrom comprises removing the at least a second bacteria from the imprinted polymer without removing the first bacteria from the imprinted polymer.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein passing the liquid over the imprinted polymer after washing the imprinted polymer comprises increasing an amount of the first bacteria bound to the imprinted polymer.

19. The method of claim 6 , wherein passing a liquid containing the analyte over an imprinted polymer on a substrate comprises passing the liquid containing the analyte over a molecularly imprinted polymer.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing at least a portion of the second bacteria from the imprinted polymer comprises removing unbound bacteria from the imprinted polymer.