en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>Background: </strong><em>Salmonella</em> is one of the most common food-borne pathogens that can cause illness. In this study, the sensitivity and the specificity of Aptamer-Magnetic bead Separation-Polymerase Chain Reaction (AMS-PCR) method were determined for<em> Salmonella</em> spp. detection.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> Different concentrations of <em>Salmonella enterica</em> were mixed with streptavidin-magnetic beads coated with biotinylated DNA aptamer. The bound bacteria were eluted and tested with PCR targeting the <em>inv</em>A gene of <em>Salmonella</em>. Ten different serovars of <em>Salmonella enterica</em> and four non-<em>Salmonella</em> were tested to determine the specificity of the DNA aptamer. For field application, 14 different food samples were tested and compared with the culture method.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> The limit of detection of AMS-PCR method was 10² CFU/ml which was 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR without AMS (10³ CFU/ml). The AMS-PCR assay showed high specificity as it detected ten different serovars of <em>Salmonella enterica</em> with no cross-reactivity with other food-borne pathogens. AMS-PCR reduced the analytical duration from 6 to 7 h instead of 4 days by the culture method.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> In comparison with the culture method, AMS helped to improve the upstream sample preparation in reducing the pre-enrichment and enrichment times. So, it seems that combining AMS with PCR is cost-effective and time-saving. In addition, it is highly specific for monitoring of <em>Salmonella</em> spp. in food chain.<br> <br> <br> <strong>DOI:</strong> 10.29252/jfqhc.5.3.94</span></span></div> Salmonella, Aptamers, Nucleotide, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Food Safety 94 101 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-637-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 A.N. Zifruddin No Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia K.L. Thong thongkl@um.edu.my Yes Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia