Zwitterionic imprinting enables fouling-resistant biomimetic sensing of Staphylococcus aureus in complex food matrices.

Sensors are frequently compromised by biofouling in complex food matrices, where nonspecific adsorption of microorganisms and biomacromolecules impairs their detection performance and reliability. Inspired by the synergistic integration of antifouling and molecular imprinting strategies, this study reports an electrochemical sensing platform for ultrasensitive analysis of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). A reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer was electrodeposited to enhance charge transfer, followed by one-pot electrochemical copolymerization of dopamine and a zwitterionic antifouling monomer (SBAA) using S. aureus as templates. After template removal, antifouling imprinted cavities provide high specificity while resisting nonspecific adsorption. The sensor avoids external cross-linkers and multi-step modifications, achieving a detection limit of 0.79 CFU mL-1 with robust antifouling performance across diverse matrices, including milk and juice. By seamlessly integrating molecular recognition and antifouling functionality within a single polymer architecture, this strategy establishes a scalable, rapid, and on-site platform for detecting foodborne pathogens in challenging real-world food samples.