Multianalyte Antibiotic Detection on an Electrochemical Microfluidic Platform.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat due to overuse in medicine and agriculture.
• Effective surveillance of antibiotic residues is essential for public health, food safety, and environmental protection.
• Current methods for antibiotic detection can be slow, complex, or lack multiplexing capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel microfluidic platform for simultaneous electrochemical detection of multiple antibiotics.
• To demonstrate the platform's utility for rapid, sensitive, and specific antibiotic monitoring in complex samples.
• To assess the stability and shelf-life of pre-immobilized assays on the microfluidic platform.

Main Methods:

• A microfluidic platform was designed with individual, low-volume (680 nL) assay channels for electrochemical readout.
• Enzyme-linked assays (ELAs) were developed for the simultaneous detection of tetracycline and streptogramin antibiotics.
• Dry film photoresist (DFR) material was used for channel fabrication, enabling stable, pre-immobilized assays with extended shelf-life.

Main Results:

• The platform successfully performed simultaneous electrochemical detection of up to eight enzyme-linked assays (ELAs).
• Limits of detection (LOD) were determined as 6.33 ng mL^-1 for tetracycline and 9.22 ng mL^-1 for pristinamycin.
• Simultaneous detection of both antibiotics in spiked human plasma was achieved in under 15 minutes, demonstrating real-world applicability.

Conclusions:

• The developed microfluidic biosensor offers a fast, versatile, and sensitive solution for multianalyte antibiotic surveillance.
• The platform's ability to store pre-immobilized assays enhances its practicality for point-of-need applications.
• This technology holds significant potential for medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety control.