A Dual-Channel Biosensor Enables Concurrent Detection of Pathogens and Antibiotic Resistance

Sefi Vernick, Institute of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, ARO VOlcani Institute, Rishon Lezion, Israel (sefi@volcani.agri.gov.il)

Diarrhoeagenic infections, commonly treated with β-lactam antibiotics, contribute to antibiotic resistance - a pressing public health concern. Rapid monitoring of pathogen antibiotic resistance is vital to combat antimicrobial spread. Current bacterial diagnosis methods identify pathogens or determine antibiotic resistance separately, necessitating multiple assays. There is an urgent need for tools that simultaneously identify infectious agents and their antibiotic resistance at the point of care (POC). We developed an integrated electrochemical chip-based biosensor for detecting enteropathogenic E. coli. Leveraging an antibody against the virulence marker EspB, the dual-channel chip facilitated electrochemical impedance spectroscopy-based detection of EspB antigen (sensitivity of 10 ng/mL) and EspB-expressing bacteria. For β-lactam resistance profiling, a second channel enabled differential-pulse voltammetric measurement of hydrolyzed nitrocefin, a β-lactam analogue, demonstrating sensitive detection of the antibiotic resistance marker, β-lactamase at concentrations as low as 1 ng/mL. The integrated electrochemical biosensor successfully achieved simultaneous, rapid detection of double positive EspB- and β-lactamase-expressing bacteria, promoting advancements in POC clinical diagnosis.

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Short Biography of Presenting Author

Dr. Vernick received his B.Sc in biology (2003) and M.Sc. in biotechnology (2005) from the faculty of life sciences in Tel-Aviv University. He gained his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 2012 (faculty of engineering, department of physical electronics, Tel-Aviv University). Dr. Vernick has completed a five-year post-doctoral research in the Bioelectronic systems lab in Columbia University where he developed single-molecule carbon nanotube field-effect transistor devices. Dr. Vernick joined the Institute of Agricultural Engineering in Volcani Institute in 2018. Research in the Bioelectronics and Electrochemistry lab is focused on the development of chip-based bioelectronic platforms for various diagnostic applications and the study of biomolecular interactions.