Bennett, I; McKendry, R; Pyne, A; (2019) Rapid antimicrobial sensitivity testing by single cell nanoscale optical interference. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory: Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.

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Abstract

Growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious global threat to human health, with estimates of AMR leading to 10 million deaths per year and costing the global economy $100tn by 20501,2. Current methods to detect resistance include phenotypic antibiotic sensitivity testing (AST) which measures bacterial growth and is therefore hampered by slow time to result (~12-24 hours). Therefore new rapid phenotypic methods for AST are urgently needed3. Here we describe a novel method for detecting phenotypic antibiotic resistance in ~45 minutes, capable of detecting single bacteria. The method uses a sensitive laser and detector system to measure nanoscale optical interference of single bacterial cells present in media, with simple sample preparation. This provides a read out of bacterial antibiotic resistance by detecting growth (resistant) or death (sensitive), much faster than current methods. We demonstrate the potential of this technique by determining resistance in both lab and clinical strains of E. coli, a key species for clinically burdensome urinary tract infections. This work provides the basis for a simple and fast diagnostic tool to detect antibiotic resistance in bacteria, reducing the health and economic burdens of AMR.

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