title: Microbial fuel cell-based diagnostic platform to reveal antibacterial effect of beta-lactam antibiotics.
abstract: Beta-lactam antibiotics comprise the largest group of antibacterial agents. Due to their bactericidal properties and limited toxicity to humans they are preferred in antimicrobial therapy. In most cases, therapy is empiric since susceptibility testing in diagnostic laboratories takes a relatively long time. This paper presents a novel platform that is based on the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology and focuses on the early antibiogram determination of isolates against a series of beta-lactam antibiotics. An advantage of the system is that it can be integrated into traditional microbiological diagnostic laboratory procedures. Tested bacterium suspensions are uploaded into the anodic chambers of each miniaturized MFC unit integrated into a panel system, containing different antibiotic solutions. Electronic signals gained in each MFC unit are continuously monitored and are proportional to the metabolic activity of the presenting test bacterium. Using this method, antibiotic susceptibility can be evaluated in 2-4h after inoculation. Hereby we demonstrate the efficacy of the platform in antibiogram determination by testing the susceptibilities of Escherichia coli strain ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus strain ATCC 29213 against 10 beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin, ampicillin, ticarcillin, cefazolin, cefuroxime, cefoperazone, cefepime, cefoxitin, cefaclor, imipenem). This paper also presents the construction of the background instrumentation and the panel system into which a printed circuit board (PCB) based electrode was integrated. Our results suggest that MFC based biosensors have the potential to be used in diagnostics for antibiogram determination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Pécs, Szigeti str. 12, 7635 Pécs, Hungary; Bioplex Research and Development Ltd., Rózsahegyi str 6, 7635 Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: gyorgy.schneider@aok.pte.hu.
authors.forename: György
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Bioplex Research and Development Ltd., Rózsahegyi str 6, 7635 Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: czeller.miklos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Czeller
authors.affiliation: R.V.M Engineer Ltd., Rákóczi str. 19, 7362 Vásárosdombó, Hungary. Electronic address: rostas.viktor@rostaskkt.hu.
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rostás
authors.affiliation: Nanophagetherapy Center, Enviroinvest Corp., Kertváros str. 2, 7632 Pécs, Hungary. Electronic address: kovacst@enviroinvest.hu.
authors.forename: Tamás
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kovács
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D003470:Culture Media; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D008904:Miniaturization; D010641:Phenotype; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D047090:beta-Lactams / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003470:Culture Media; D047090:beta-Lactams
keywords: Biosensor; Diagnostic, Beta-lactam; Microbial fuel cell; Susceptibility, Printed circuit board