Single cell antimicrobial susceptibility testing by confined microchannels and electrokinetic loading

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biotechnology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Multidrug-resistant pathogens pose a significant global health threat.
• Rapid determination of antibiotic resistance profiles is critical for effective infectious disease management.
• Current antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods are time-consuming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rapid, single cell antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) approach.
• To enable real-time monitoring of bacterial antibiotic resistance at the single cell level.
• To provide a faster alternative to conventional AST methods.

Main Methods:

• Confining individual bacteria in microchannels for real-time monitoring.
• Utilizing AC electrokinetics for efficient bacterial capture and loading.
• Systematically determining bacterial growth rates under various antibiotic conditions.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a single cell AST approach for rapid antibiotic resistance determination.
• Achieved high bacterial loading efficiency (~75%) with AC electrokinetics, minimal impact on growth.
• Successfully determined antimicrobial resistance profiles of clinical isolates in under 1 hour.

Conclusions:

• Single cell AST offers a significantly faster method for determining bacterial antibiotic resistance.
• This technique is applicable to clinical isolates and various media, including urine.
• The developed approach aids in combating multidrug-resistant pathogens and managing infectious diseases effectively.