Research Projects

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health challenge due to the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Current gold standards for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST) are culture-based and take 8 hours or more, leading to inappropriate prescriptions. To address this issue, quick and efficient tests are needed to identify antibiotic resistance profiles. Paper-based lateral flow devices, such as pregnancy test kits, have gained attention due to their faster response, ease of use, and low cost. Plant-based cellulose is typically used, but it is not free from impurities and has limited surface area and porosity. Bacterial nanocellulose paper offers significant improvement due to its higher surface area and tunable nature. Bacterial Cellulose (BC) has a nanofibrous porous structure with high porosity and exceptional water holding capability. The aim is to fabricate a lateral flow-based microfluidic device using BC, which can hold bacterial growth solution, antibiotic, and a halo-chromic dye. This device can detect antibiotic susceptibility by allowing resistant bacteria to grow and preventing growth at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) if susceptible. The device's advantages over current plant-based platforms include excellent water retention capabilities, lower values of MIC, and ease of post-processing/assembling. Visual interpretation of susceptibility and MIC results is also possible. Bacterial cellulose devices offer faster detection using lower volumes of fluid and low-cost packaging. They can be easily produced by table-top culture and can be tuned during production to modulate pore size, porosity, and microfibres. Preliminary work by the team supports these advantages.