New Delhi, August 6: A low-cost, hand-held device to detect bacteria has been developed by the researchers of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati. A statement from the Institute stated that this research will help in the quick detection of bacteria, which is crucial not only in healthcare but also in anti-bioterrorism measures and environmental monitoring applications.
Bacteria detection without need for cell culture, microbiological assays
As per the statement, the research team led by Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Department of Chemistry, and Prof. Siddhartha S. Ghosh, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati, has developed this economic, bio-compatible sensor that is capable of detecting bacteria almost immediately without needing cell culture and microbiological assays.
The statement further said that the Organic Field Effect Transistor (OFET)-based bacterial diagnostic device has been shown to have the ability to detect 103 cfu mL−1 of bacteria along with differentiating between Gram positive and Gram negative types.
Their work has been patented. It is also published in the July 2019 issue of the prestigious peer-reviewed Journal of Materials Chemistry A of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Bacteria detection in body fluids is done in laboratories presently. To ensure that enough of the bacterial cells are available for microbiological analysis, the cells derived from the patient are initially cultured or grown.
“Current diagnostic processes are frustratingly time-consuming, especially when time is of the essence in administering treatment. While newly developed techniques such as real-time qPCR can detect bacteria faster than conventional assay-based methods, they are restricted by the need for expensive apparatuses and trained personnel. What would be useful are hand-held rapid detection kits like those used for blood sugar monitoring and pregnancy detection,” Prof. Iyer told the media while explaining the need to develop simpler and faster procedures for bacteria detection.
The team of IIT also includes Dr. Anamika Dey, Dr. Ashish Singh and Dr. Deepanjalee Dutta. All three are former Ph.D. scholars from Center for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati.
Working of device
Speaking about the functionality of the device, Prof. Ghosh said, “It is known that Gram positive bacteria such as S. pneumoniae, have different cell wall compositions than Gram negative bacteria such as the common E. coli. Such asymmetric cell wall organizations could alter the flow of electrons at the channel of OFETs during their detection.”
