Rapid Bacterial Detection on Surfaces by Field-Deployable Respirometric Sensor Sachets

Monitoring bacterial contamination on surfaces is critical for hygiene and safety assurance in food, healthcare, and pharmaceutical settings, although routine methods still remain slow and laboratory dependent. Here, we report a portable respirometric platform based on sealed sensor sachets incorporating optical oxygen sensors to rapidly detect and quantify total aerobic viable counts (TVC) from swabbed surfaces. Following standardized surface swabbing, samples were incubated in the sachets and oxygen depletion kinetics were recorded with a handheld reader and microbial activity was inferred from oxygen consumption. Reference quantification was obtained by serial dilution and aerobic plate counting, enabling direct benchmarking of the respirometric readout against an industry-accepted culture method such as ISO 4833:2013. The platform demonstrated strong agreement with plate counts (R2 > 0.94), achieving a median detection limit of 2.69 log10 CFU/cm2 and a dynamic range of 0–6 log10 CFU/cm2 for surface-associated microbial loads. The sensor system was also applied in a semi-industrial setting in a meat processing plant. Across replicate measurements, the assay provided consistent kinetic signatures and quantitative outputs, suitable for rapid and practical decision-making. Compared with traditional culture-based approaches (requiring up to 72 h), the respirometric sachets delivered actionable results within 10 h using a portable, low-infrastructure workflow, supporting rapid on-site hygiene verification and sanitation control.