IIT Madras develops microfluidic device to detect bacteria in antibiotics in less than 4 hours

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has developed an affordable microfluidic device for highly skilled technicians, smaller clinics, and rural healthcare centres. The device can ‘rapidly’ find whether bacteria are resistant or susceptible to antibiotics in less than three hours.

The lab-on-chip device, known as ‘ε-µD’, is based on screen-printed carbon electrodes embedded in a single microfluidic chip.

Throwing some light on the usage of the newly-developed biotech device, S Pushpavanam, YBG Varma Institute Chair Professor, department of chemical engineering, IIT Madras, said: “This approach will make a real impact on patients in Intensive Care Units, who may be suffering from complications due to bacterial infections. This will help the doctors prescribe the right treatment and can be life-saving. Currently, we are doing clinical validation in collaboration with the IITM Institute hospital. After rigorous clinical validation, we are planning to commercialise this through our startup, Kaappon Analytics India Private Limited.”

The official press release by the engineering institute also claimed that the device can also be used for early diagnosis and better treatment of bacterial infections. It can be ‘very helpful’ in areas with limited access to advanced laboratory infrastructure and can deliver results within three hours, it added.

In addition, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) to be one of the most pressing challenges facing global healthcare systems today.

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ε-µD's Clinical Trials; WHO report on AMR bacteria

“The WHO has identified AMR as one of the top ten threats to global health, and estimates suggest that nearly 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019 were associated with bacterial AMR,” the press release says.

Traditional Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) involves growing bacterial cultures and observing their response to antibiotics. They are “labour-intensive and typically take 48 to 72 hours for result display,” the institute said.

To tackle these challenges, the IIT Madras has developed the ε-µD device. It adhered with several key criteria outlined by the WHO. The device prototype has been tested on two bacteria - gram-negative E coli and gram-positive B subtilis.

“They used two antibiotics with different modes of action — ampicillin, which kills bacteria and tetracycline, which prevents them from growing — to confirm the device’s ability to detect both kinds of responses. The ε-µD was able to detect susceptibility profiles within three hours,” the institute added.

It has also been tested on urine samples spiked with E coli and successfully identified resistance to tetracycline, “showing the potential of this device in clinical diagnostics,” the institute concluded.