New biosensors Observable bacterial growth resolution Superoptical microscope

According to the report of the American Physicist Organization Network, researchers at the University of Michigan used the parts of the CD player to develop a biosensor that can observe bacterial growth and its sensitivity to drugs without using a microscope. The study was published in the recently published journal "Biosensors and Bioelectronics."

This new type of biosensor is also known as the Asynchronous Bead Rotation Sensor (AMBR). Its magnetic beads can rotate asynchronously in a magnetic field. Any object that adheres to the magnetic beads can change its rotation speed. After attaching E. coli to magnetic beads, the researchers found that its rotation speed slowed. When bacteria begin to grow, although the changes that occur during growth are extremely subtle, the resistance to rotation encounters changes drastically, so the nanoscale changes in bacterial growth can be measured based on the change in the magnetic bead rotation speed. Using this method, researchers can measure the growth of bacteria at 80 nanometers, which has far more resolution than optical microscopes with a resolution limit of 250 nanometers.

Raoul Pelman, a professor at the University of Richmond, who is responsible for the project, said that the new biosensor can speed up the treatment of bacterial infections. Using this technique, doctors do not need to wait for the culture results after a few days. It takes only a few minutes to know which antibiotic is the best treatment. In addition, this new biosensor can also screen the antibacterial activity of existing and newly discovered compounds, improve therapeutic efficacy, thereby reducing medical costs and reducing the spread of drug resistance. In addition, the use of new technologies can also detect the response of cancer cells, so in the future it can also be applied to the research and development of cancer drugs.