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Microfabricated Device for Impedance-Based Detection of Bacterial Metabolism

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Abstract

We present the use of a microfabricated device for impedance-based detection of a few live bacterial cells. Impedance-based detection relies on measuring changes in the AC impedance of two electrodes immersed in a liquid were the bacteria are cultured, caused by the release of ionic species by metabolizing bacterial cells. Rapid detection of a few cells (1 to 10) is possible if the cells are confined into a volume on the order of nanoliters. A microfluidic biochip prototype has been fabricated to test this miniaturized assay. The conductance of the bacterial suspensions is extracted from measuring their complex impedance in a 5.27 nl chamber in the biochip, at several frequencies between 100 Hz and 1 MHz. Measurements on suspensions of the bacteria Listeria innocua, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli in a low conductivity buffer demonstrate that, under the current experimental conditions, the minimum detection level is between 50 and 200 live cells, after two hours of off-chip incubation. Work is in progress to develop techniques for selective capture of bacteria inside the chip, and to minimize background changes in impedance during on-chip incubation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA

    Rafael Gómez & Rashid Bashir

  2. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA

    Michael R. Ladisch

  3. Department of Food Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA

    Arun K. Bhunia

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907, USA

    Rashid Bashir

Authors
  1. Rafael Gómez
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  2. Michael R. Ladisch
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  3. Arun K. Bhunia
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  4. Rashid Bashir
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Gómez, R., Ladisch, M.R., Bhunia, A.K. et al. Microfabricated Device for Impedance-Based Detection of Bacterial Metabolism. MRS Online Proceedings Library 729, 46 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-729-U4.6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-729-U4.6

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