Open AccessEvaluation of bacterial proliferation with a microfluidic-based device: Antibiochip
Author(s) -
Valentina Gallo,
Alessia Ruiba,
Massimo Zanin,
Paolo Begnamino,
S. Ledda,
Tiziana Pesce,
Giovanni Melioli,
M. Pizzi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0223932
Subject(s) - serial dilution , microfluidics , bacterial growth , centrifugation , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , microbiological culture , linearity , incubation , bacteria , biology , chemistry , chromatography , materials science , medicine , nanotechnology , biochemistry , alternative medicine , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , genetics
The measurement of the proliferation (and the relevant inhibition of proliferation) of microbes is used in different settings, from industry to laboratory medicine. Thus, in this study, the capacity of the Antibiochip (ELTEK spa), a microfluidic-based device, to measure the amount of E . coli in certain culture conditions, was evaluated. An Antibiochip is composed of V-shaped microchannels, and the amount of microparticles (such as microbes) is measured by the surface of the pellet after centrifugation. In the present study, different geometries, volumes and times were analyzed. When the best conditions were identified, serial dilutions of microbial cultures were tested to validate the linearity of the results. Then, with the use of wild E . coli strains isolated from medical samples, the relationship between bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics measured by standard methods and that measured by the Antibiochip was evaluated. In this report, the good quality performances of the methods, their linearity and the capacity to identify susceptible microbial strains after 60 minutes of incubation are shown. These results represent a novel approach for ultrarapid antibiograms in clinics.