An automated and portable antimicrobial susceptibility testing system for urinary tract infections

Lab Chip. 2021 Feb 23;21(4):755-763. doi: 10.1039/d0lc01315c.

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are bacterial infections that 1) commonly affect females, 2) can pose high risks to impair kidney function, 3) are often treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics, and 4) are associated with high recurrence rates due to the evolution of drug-resistant strains. To choose the appropriate antibiotic, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) among a panel of antibiotics should be determined before administration to avoid inadequate dosing or use of wrong antibiotics. To meet with the unmet needs, we developed a bead-based method for bacterial preconcentration with capture rates ranging from 20-50% and then automatically performed on-chip AST on an automated device which was composed of a pneumatic control module, a temperature control module and a chip image processing module. The developed portable system was capable of automatically conducting AST and MIC measurements using urine samples (via image analysis) in only 4.5-9 h and tested on four common UTIs bacterial strains. This compact system may therefore be promising for point-of-care personalized medicine in the near future.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Bacteria
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Urinary Tract Infections* / diagnosis
  • Urinary Tract Infections* / drug therapy

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents