A team of engineering and pharmaceutical researchers developed a new device that can rapidly detect drug-resistant bacteria and determine which course of antibiotics would be most effective to treat them, according to new study published in the journal Nature Communications.
The unique characteristic of the device is a plank 25 times smaller than the width of a piece of hair that resembles a diving board. The plank is coated in biomaterials, which bacteria like E. coli or Listeria stick to when presented in fluid samples. When bacteria are caught, the device sends out three different signals — the plank's mass changes, the plank bends and, when exposed to light, the bacteria generates heat, which acts as a confirmation signal. The multiple detection methods translates to a reduction in ambiguity.
With the bacteria trapped on the plank, researchers can add antibiotics to the device and thereby determine which drugs the bacteria are susceptible to.
"We're trying to find a way to fight bacterial resistance to drugs and prevent or at least decrease the spread of drug-resistant strains," said Hashem Etayash, a PhD student in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Alberta in Canada. "We're able to do several tests in a very short period of time and we can quickly identify bugs that can resist antibiotics."
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