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Published on: March 21, 2014
Separation of pathogenic bacteria by chain length
Jason P Beech1, Bao Dang Ho1, Geneviève Garriss2
1Division of Solid State Physics and NanoLund, Lund University, SE-221 00, Sweden.
Abstract:
Using Deterministic Lateral Displacement devices optimized for sensitivity to particle length, we separate subpopulations of bacteria depending on known properties that affect their capability to cause disease (virulence). For the human bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae, bacterial chain length and the presence of a capsule are known virulence factors contributing to its ability to cause severe disease. Separation of cultured pneumococci into subpopulations based on morphological type (single cocci, diplococci and chains) will enable more detailed studies of the role they play in virulence. Moreover, we present separation of mixed populations of almost genetically identical encapsulated and non-encapsulated pneumococcal strains in our device.
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