A fluorescent film sensor for high‐performance detection of Listeria monocytogenes via vapor sampling

Abstract Foodborne Listeria monocytogenes poses serious threats to public health. Fast and sensitive detection of the pathogen at the point of contamination is thus crucial to halt the spread of bacteria‐related diseases. Herein, we report for the first time a fluorescent film sensor to detect the biomarker of L. monocytogenes, 3‐hydroxy‐2‐butanone. The sensor demonstrated unprecedented sensing performance for the analyte with a detection limit lower than 0.05 mg/m3, response time less than 1 s, full reversibility, and excellent selectivity. Further study showed that the sensor can be used to monitor the growth of L. monocytogenes with much‐improved sensitivity. The superior performance of the sensor is ascribed to the specific binding, efficient charge transfer emission, and porous adlayer structure of the specially designed sensing fluorophore‐based film. Our work paves the way to develop a portable detector to meet the needs for on‐site and real‐time detection of foodborne pathogens.