title: Lab on a chip sensor for rapid detection and antibiotic resistance determination of Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), is a major pathogen responsible for a variety of infectious diseases ranging from cellulitis to more serious conditions such as septic arthritis and septicaemia. Timely treatment with appropriate antibiotic therapy is essential to ensure clinical defervescence and to prevent further complications such as infective endocarditis or organ impairment due to septic shock. To date, initial antibiotic choice is empirical, using a "best guess" of likely organism and sensitivity- an approach adopted due to the lack of rapid identification methods for bacteria. Current culture based methods take up to 5 days to identify the causative bacterial pathogen and its antibiotic sensitivity. This paper provides proof of concept for a biosensor, based on interdigitated electrodes, to detect the presence of S. aureus and ascertain its sensitivity to flucloxacillin rapidly (within 2 hours) in a cost effective manner. The proposed method is label-free and uses non-faradic measurements. This is the first study to successfully employ interdigitated electrodes for the rapid detection of antibiotic resistance. The method described has important potential outcomes of faster definitive antibiotic treatment and more rapid clinical response to treatment.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Chathurika D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Abeyrathne
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Duc H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Mcintire
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Thanh C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Babak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nasr
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, Austin Health, Victoria 3084, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zantomio
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3050, Australia.
authors.forename: Gursharan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chana
authors.affiliation: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Doherty Institute, Victoria 3000, Australia.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Choong
authors.affiliation: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Doherty Institute, Victoria 3000, Australia.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Catton
authors.affiliation: Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia. chathurika.abeyrathne@unimelb.edu.au and Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia and Department of Psychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3050, Australia.
authors.forename: Efstratios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Skafidas
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004566:Electrodes; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013997:Time Factors