International Journal on Magnetic Particle Imaging IJMPI
Vol. 12 No. 1 Suppl 1 (2026): Int J Mag Part Imag
https://doi.org/10.18416/IJMPI.2026.2603014
Proceedings Articles, ID 1023
Detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Whole Blood using a portable Magnetic Particle Spectrometer - a feasibility study
Main Article Content
Copyright (c) 2026 Lukas Heinen, Alexander Simonis, Jan Rybniker, Johanna Günther, Patrick Vogel, Christina Janko, Christoph Alexiou, Stefan Lyer, Rainer Tietze

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Rapid identification of WHO critical priority pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is essential for managing sepsis, where standard blood cultures cause diagnostic delays of 24-72 hours. To address this, we developed a rapid, culture-independent magnetic immunoassay using a portable Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy (MPS) device for the direct detection of P. aeruginosa in blood. We evaluated two SPION formulations and found that our developed formulation, SPION-152, demonstrated excellent specificity, generating a strong signal change with virulent P. aeruginosa strains while showing negligible cross-reactivity with E. coli. Specificity for a virulence-associated factor was confirmed using a knockout mutant. These findings validate the MPS platform as a promising tool for accelerating pathogen identification in patients with suspected sepsis.
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