Abstract
According to the World Health Organization forecasts, AntiMicrobial Resistance (AMR) is expected to become one of the leading causes of death worldwide in the following decades. The rising danger of AMR is caused by the overuse of antibiotics, which are becoming ineffective against many pathogens, particularly in the presence of bacterial biofilms. In this context, non-destructive label-free techniques for the real-time study of the biofilm generation and maturation, together with the analysis of the efficiency of antibiotics, are in high demand. Here, we propose the design of a novel optoelectronic device based on a dual array of interdigitated micro- and nanoelectrodes in parallel, aiming at monitoring the bacterial biofilm evolution by using optical and electrical measurements. The optical response given by the nanostructure, based on the Guided Mode Resonance effect with a Q-factor of about 400 and normalized resonance amplitude of about 0.8, allows high spatial resolution for the analysis of the interaction between planktonic bacteria distributed in small colonies and their role in the biofilm generation, calculating a resonance wavelength shift variation of 0.9 nm in the presence of bacteria on the surface, while the electrical response with both micro- and nanoelectrodes is necessary for the study of the metabolic state of the bacteria to reveal the efficacy of antibiotics for the destruction of the biofilm, measuring a current change of 330 nA when a 15 µm thick biofilm is destroyed with respect to the absence of biofilm.
Highlights
Bacterial infections represent one of the leading causes of death in developing nations [1]
Many bacterial infections are caused by the non-eradication of bacterial biofilm, which can be several times more resistant to antibiotics compared to planktonic bacteria [8,9]
The dual array is formed by an Interdigitated Micro Electrodes (IMEs) section and an Interdigitated Nano Electrodes (INEs) section, which are both realized in Silicon-OnSapphire (SOS) technology and fed by an AC voltage
Summary
Bacterial infections represent one of the leading causes of death in developing nations [1]. According to [7], the cost of AMR on public health is up to 100 trillion USD, and AMR is expected to become the leading cause of death worldwide, with over 10 million annually predicted by 2050 These consequences highlight that AMR is a widespread social problem that cannot be underestimated or neglected anymore due to the large and rising number of people potentially affected. Many bacterial infections are caused by the non-eradication of bacterial biofilm, which can be several times more resistant to antibiotics compared to planktonic bacteria [8,9]. This behavior is strictly correlated to the intrinsic nature of the biofilm, which consists. It has been demonstrated that even if a biofilm is treated by an antibiotic that is efficient for a specific planktonic bacterium or small communities of bacteria with a concentration much higher than Minimum Biofilm Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), which represents the lowest concentration of drug to prevent the bacteria growth, the biofilm structure can be completely unaltered, showing a continuous growth process after the treatment [12]
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