Dynamic detection of a single bacterium: nonlinear rotation rate shifts of driven magnetic microsphere stages

We report on a new technique which was used to detect single Escherichia coli that is based on the changes in the nonlinear rotation of a magnetic microsphere driven by an external magnetic field. The presence of one Escherichia Coli bacterium on the surface of a 2.0 micron magnetic microsphere caused an easily measurable change in the drag of the system and, therefore, in the nonlinear rotation rate. The straight-forward measurement uses standard microscopy techniques and the observed average shift in the nonlinear rotation rate changed by a factor of ~3.8.