Microsystems for biofilm characterization and sensing – A review

Sowmya Subramanian; Ryan C. Huiszoon; Sangwook Chu; William E. Bentley; Reza Ghodssi

Biofilm (Dec 2020)

Microsystems for biofilm characterization and sensing – A review

Sowmya Subramanian,
Ryan C. Huiszoon,
Sangwook Chu,
William E. Bentley,
Reza Ghodssi

Affiliations

Sowmya Subramanian: MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Ryan C. Huiszoon: MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Sangwook Chu: MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
William E. Bentley: Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
Reza Ghodssi: MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Corresponding author. MEMS Sensors and Actuators Laboratory, University of Maryland, 2236 Kim Engineering Bldg, College Park, MD, USA.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 2
p. 100015

Abstract

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Biofilms are the primary cause of clinical bacterial infections and are impervious to typical amounts of antibiotics, necessitating very high doses for elimination. Therefore, it is imperative to have suitable methods for characterization to develop novel methods of treatment that can complement or replace existing approaches using significantly lower doses of antibiotics. This review presents some of the current developments in microsystems for characterization and sensing of bacterial biofilms. Initially, we review current standards for studying biofilms that are based on invasive and destructive end-point biofilm characterization. Additionally, biofilm formation and growth is extremely sensitive to various growth and environmental parameters that cause large variability in biofilms between repeated experiments, making it very difficult to compare experimental repeats and characterize the temporal characteristics of these organisms. To address these challenges, recent developments in the field have moved toward systems and miniature devices that can aid in the non-invasive characterization of bacterial biofilms. Our review focuses on several types of microsystems for biofilm evaluation including optical, electrochemical, and mechanical systems. This review will show how these devices can lead to better understanding of the physiology and function of these communities of bacteria, which can eventually lead to the development of novel treatments that do not rely on high-dosage antibiotics.

Published in Biofilm

ISSN: 2590-2075 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Biotechnology; Science: Microbiology
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biofilm

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Abstract

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