IIT Madras Develops Device to Detect Antibiotic Resistance in Just Three Hours | Bacteria will die or not in 3 hours

Device that detect antibiotic resistance: Whether or not the bacteria will die from antibiotics in your body, it will be known in just 3 hours. Scientists from IIT Madras have created a new and cheap tool, which can tell in just three hours that no bacteria will die or will affect the drug. This device has been called “Lab-on-Chip”. It contains small electrodes, which understand the reaction of bacteria and give fast results. This technique is quite different from traditional methods. In the traditional methods, the effect of the effect of the drug takes 48 to 72 hours time. Due to long wait, doctors often give broad-spectrum antibiotics, which increases resistance to drugs in bacteria. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest health challenges today and about 49.5 lakh deaths in 2019. To deal with this serious problem, scientists from IIT Madras have prepared an effective equipment, which has brought a great hope in this direction.

Unique way of lab-on-chip technology

This device, called ε-µd, is a microfluidic chip equipped with screen-printed carbon electrodes. It is based on electrochemical impedes spectroscopy. When bacteria grow, they change the electric signal inside the device. By measuring this change, it shows whether bacteria are being affected by medicine or not. Professor S. of the Department of Chemical Engineering of IIT Madras, S.K. According to Pushpavanam, this device can prove to be a life saving for patients admitted in intensive medical units. With this, doctors will be able to give quick and correct medicines. This will also provide better service in small hospitals and rural clinics, where there are no expensive and big lab facilities.

This device was tested with two types of bacteria, E.Coli and Ampicillin drugs on B.S.batistis. The results met in only three hours and it became clear which bacteria is dying on which medicine and which is not. It also gave the correct conclusion on the patient’s urine sample. Instead of investigating 2-3 days in a traditional way, this device gives an accurate report in just three hours, which also saves time and also reduces the mistake of giving wrong medicine. In addition, this will also clear the way to stop antibiotic resistance, because doctors will get the right medicine immediately and reduce the misuse of the medicine. This research of IIT Madras has been published in Nature Cystic Reports and can play an important role in improving the system of fighting infections all over the world. Professor Pushpavanam said that soon this device will be launched on a commercial level so that it can be used in more and more hospitals. -Input-IANS