A Rapidly Responsive Sensor for Wireless Detection of Early and Mature Microbial Biofilms |
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Authors: | Atefeh Shafaat Juan Francisco Gonzalez-Martinez Wanderson O. Silva Andreas Lesch Bhawna Nagar Zita Lopes da Silva Jessica Neilands Javier Sotres Sebastian Björklund Hubert Girault Tautgirdas Ruzgas |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, 20506 Malmö, Sweden;2. Department of Applied Physics, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, Spain;3. Institute of Systems Engineering, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, 1950 Sion, Switzerland;4. Department of Industrial Chemistry “Toso Montanari”, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy;5. Laboratory of Physical and Analytical Electrochemistry, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Valais Wallis, 1950 Sion, Switzerland;6. Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, 20506 Malmö, Sweden;7. Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, 20506 Malmö, Sweden Biofilms - Research Center for Biointerfaces, Malmö University, 20506 Malmö, Sweden |
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Abstract: | Biofilm-associated infections, which are able to resist antibiotics, pose a significant challenge in clinical treatments. Such infections have been linked to various medical conditions, including chronic wounds and implant-associated infections, making them a major public-health concern. Early-detection of biofilm formation offers significant advantages in mitigating adverse effects caused by biofilms. In this work, we aim to explore the feasibility of employing a novel wireless sensor for tracking both early-stage and matured-biofilms formed by the medically relevant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The sensor utilizes electrochemical reduction of an AgCl layer bridging two silver legs made by inkjet-printing, forming a part of near-field-communication tag antenna. The antenna is interfaced with a carbon cloth designed to promote the growth of microorganisms, thereby serving as an electron source for reduction of the resistive AgCl into a highly-conductive Ag bridge. The AgCl−Ag transformation significantly alters the impedance of the antenna, facilitating wireless identification of an endpoint caused by microbial growth. To the best of our knowledge, this study for the first time presents the evidence showcasing that electrons released through the actions of bacteria can be harnessed to convert AgCl to Ag, thus enabling the wireless, battery-less, and chip-less early-detection of biofilm formation. |
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Keywords: | Chip-Less Wireless Sensing Inkjet Printing Mediated Electron Transfer Microbial Biofilm Near Field Communication |
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