Abstract
Summary Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a major threat to human health, but broad-spectrum antibiotics are losing efficacy. There is a need to screen a given drug against a bacterial infection outside of the laboratory. To address this need, we have designed and built an inexpensive and easy-to-use 3D-printer-based system that allows easily readable quantitative tests for the performance of antibacterial drugs. The platform creates a sterile diagnostic device by using 3D printing, and the device is filled automatically with growth medium, and then antibiotics are sprayed onto the medium by ink-jet technology. The sample for testing can be introduced via a fluid port, and the printer hot bed is used to incubate the device, allowing operation in the field. Combining advantages from various established tests of antibacterial performance, this allows the comparison of a specific antibiotics and bacteria. Also, this system can create and test several antibiotic formulations for therapeutic use, and we demonstrate this potential by investigating a mixture of pathogens that are only killed by a mixture of drugs.
Highlights
The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics has created a tremendous problem for the future of human health
These include the development of new drugs, which can take decades, or the selective use of antibiotics rather than broad spectrum antibiotics to prevent the development of drug-resistant bacteria
We present a solution to this problem whereby we were able to develop an inexpensive and autonomous system that produces 3D-printed diagnostic devices and is capable of incubating them if needed, thereby leading to an autonomous and integrated system that can determine drug effectiveness against bacterial infection
Summary
The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics has created a tremendous problem for the future of human health This is because bacteria are gradually becoming resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, resulting in the emergence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms or ‘‘super bugs.’’1 Often, such super bugs have become resistant to all but the most toxic drugs, and even these will soon be rendered useless.[2] previously trivial infections will increasingly prove to have potentially lethal consequences, including a dramatic impact on all aspects of health care because even routine hospital procedures could be fatal. Several strategies are being used to counter what is being described as the single biggest threat to human health in the 21st century These include the development of new drugs, which can take decades, or the selective use of antibiotics rather than broad spectrum antibiotics to prevent the development of drug-resistant bacteria. Wide testing creates enormous bottlenecks within hospitals and increased costs for patient care, as well as potentially worse outcomes as a result of the delayed tests, which can have extreme effects on a patient’s quality of life
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