Microbial fuel cell-based diagnostic platform to reveal antibacterial effect of beta-lactam antibiotics.

Beta-lactam antibiotics comprise the largest group of antibacterial agents. Due to their bactericidal properties and limited toxicity to humans they are preferred in antimicrobial therapy. In most cases, therapy is empiric since susceptibility testing in diagnostic laboratories takes a relatively long time. This paper presents a novel platform that is based on the microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology and focuses on the early antibiogram determination of isolates against a series of beta-lactam antibiotics. An advantage of the system is that it can be integrated into traditional microbiological diagnostic laboratory procedures. Tested bacterium suspensions are uploaded into the anodic chambers of each miniaturized MFC unit integrated into a panel system, containing different antibiotic solutions. Electronic signals gained in each MFC unit are continuously monitored and are proportional to the metabolic activity of the presenting test bacterium. Using this method, antibiotic susceptibility can be evaluated in 2-4h after inoculation. Hereby we demonstrate the efficacy of the platform in antibiogram determination by testing the susceptibilities of Escherichia coli strain ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus strain ATCC 29213 against 10 beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin, ampicillin, ticarcillin, cefazolin, cefuroxime, cefoperazone, cefepime, cefoxitin, cefaclor, imipenem). This paper also presents the construction of the background instrumentation and the panel system into which a printed circuit board (PCB) based electrode was integrated. Our results suggest that MFC based biosensors have the potential to be used in diagnostics for antibiogram determination.

[1]  Fang Qian,et al.  A 1.5 microL microbial fuel cell for on-chip bioelectricity generation. , 2009, Lab on a chip.

[2]  Jing Liu,et al.  Graphene/carbon cloth anode for high-performance mediatorless microbial fuel cells. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[3]  Hanxi Yang,et al.  Improved performances of E. coli-catalyzed microbial fuel cells with composite graphite/PTFE anodes , 2007 .

[4]  Jae Kyung Jang,et al.  Improvement of a microbial fuel cell performance as a BOD sensor using respiratory inhibitors. , 2005, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[5]  A. Kaur,et al.  Microbial fuel cell type biosensor for specific volatile fatty acids using acclimated bacterial communities. , 2013, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[6]  P. Liang,et al.  Electricity generation from glucose by a Klebsiella sp. in microbial fuel cells , 2010, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[7]  Hanxi Yang,et al.  A novel mediatorless microbial fuel cell based on direct biocatalysis of Escherichia coli. , 2006, Chemical communications.

[8]  Development of Microbial Fuel Cells Using Proteus vulgaris , 2000 .

[9]  H Spanjers,et al.  Instrumentation in anaerobic treatment--research and practice. , 2006, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[10]  Paul de Figueiredo,et al.  Microfabricated Microbial Fuel Cell Arrays Reveal Electrochemically Active Microbes , 2009, PloS one.

[11]  R. Bonomo,et al.  OHIO-1 β-lactamase mutants: Asp179Gly mutation confers resistance to ceftazidime , 1997 .

[12]  A. Sundsfjord,et al.  Genetic methods for detection of antimicrobial resistance , 2004, APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica.

[13]  G. Paul,et al.  Val-237 for Ala substitution in the TEM-2 beta-lactamase dramatically alters the catalytic efficiencies towards carbenicillin and ticarcillin. , 1994, FEMS microbiology letters.

[14]  D. Park,et al.  Electricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells Using Neutral Red as an Electronophore , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[15]  Zhen He,et al.  A microfluidic microbial fuel cell fabricated by soft lithography. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[16]  U. Schröder.  Anodic electron transfer mechanisms in microbial fuel cells and their energy efficiency. , 2007, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[17]  Yujie Feng,et al.  Use of carbon mesh anodes and the effect of different pretreatment methods on power production in microbial fuel cells. , 2009, Environmental science & technology.

[18]  U. Schröder,et al.  A generation of microbial fuel cells with current outputs boosted by more than one order of magnitude. , 2003, Angewandte Chemie.

[19]  Jing Liu,et al.  Microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for fast analysis of biodegradable organic matter. , 2007, Biosensors & bioelectronics.

[20]  Yujie Feng,et al.  Effect of nitrogen addition on the performance of microbial fuel cell anodes. , 2011, Bioresource technology.

[21]  P. B. E. Trevino,et al.  Bailey and Scott's Diagnostic Microbiology , 1998 .