cAST: Capillary-Based Platform for Real-Time Phenotypic Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing.

TitlecAST: Capillary-Based Platform for Real-Time Phenotypic Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsWang R, Vemulapati S, Westblade LF, Glesby MJ, Mehta S, Erickson D
JournalAnal Chem
Volume92
Issue3
Pagination2731-2738
Date Published2020 02 04
ISSN1520-6882
KeywordsAcinetobacter baumannii, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Capillary Tubing, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Enterobacter cloacae, Equipment Design, Escherichia coli, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Phenotype, Printing, Three-Dimensional, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stainless Steel, Time Factors
Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the greatest emerging threats to public health. Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) microorganisms affect nearly 2 million people a year in the United States alone and place an estimated $20 billion burden on the healthcare system. The rise of AMR microorganisms can be attributed to a combination of overprescription of antimicrobials and a lack of accessible diagnostic methods. Delayed diagnosis is one of the primary reasons for empiric therapy, and diagnostic methods that enable rapid and accurate results are highly desirable to facilitate evidence-based treatment. This is particularly true for clinical situations at the point-of-care where access to state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment is scarce. Here, we present a capillary-based antimicrobial susceptibility testing platform (cAST), a unique approach that offers accelerated assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility in a low-cost and simple testing format. cAST delivers an expedited time-to-readout by means of optical assessment of bacteria incubated in a small capillary form factor along with a resazurin dye. cAST was designed using a combination of off-the-shelf and custom 3D-printed parts, making it extremely suitable for use in resource-limited settings. We demonstrate that growth of bacteria in cAST is approximately 25% faster than in a conventional microplate, further validate the diagnostic performance with clinical isolates, and show that cAST can deliver accurate antimicrobial susceptibility test results within 4-8 h.

DOI10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04991
Alternate JournalAnal Chem
PubMed ID31944675
Related Faculty: 
Lars Westblade, Ph.D.

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