Platinum nanoparticles-based electrochemical H₂O₂ sensor for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Analytical Chemistry
• Microbiology

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance necessitates faster antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) methods.
• Current gold-standard AST takes 24-48 hours, delaying critical treatment decisions.
• Catalase-positive bacteria's H2O2 decomposition is a key metabolic characteristic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid, portable, and cost-effective phenotypic AST approach.
• To detect residual hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) using a platinum (Pt) nanoparticles-based electrochemical sensor.
• To address the limitations of current time-consuming AST methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Pt nanoparticles-based electrochemical sensor to detect residual H2O2.
• Monitored the pulse current change in response to H2O2 concentration.
• Validated the sensor's performance with 24 clinical samples of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus.

Main Results:

• Achieved high sensitivity with a linear response of pulse current to H2O2 concentration (∼382.2 μA cm⁻² mM⁻¹).
• Demonstrated superb diagnostic performance with an area under the curve of 1.
• Completed detection in significantly reduced times: 60 minutes for E. coli and 45 minutes for S. aureus.
• Confirmed sensor durability with no performance degradation after 100 detections.

Conclusions:

• The developed electrochemical sensor offers a rapid and efficient method for phenotypic AST.
• This approach has the potential to substantially reduce AST costs and improve patient outcomes.
• The sensor shows immense promise for diagnosing bacterial antibiotic resistance quickly and accurately.