A Propidium Monoazide-Assisted Digital CRISPR/Cas12a Assay for Selective Detection of Live Bacteria in Sample.

O157:H7 ( O157:H7) is a prominent pathogenic bacterium that poses serious risks to food safety and public health. Rapid and accurate detection of live O157:H7 is of great importance in food quality monitoring and clinical diagnosis. Here, we report a propidium monoazide-assisted nonamplification digital CRISPR/Cas12a assay for sensitive and rapid detection of live O157:H7.

Inoculum size-insensitive susceptibility determination of urine sample based on in-situ measurement of inducible enzyme activity after 20 min of antibiotic exposure.

Background: The empirical antibiotic therapies for bacterial infections cause the emergence and propagation of multi-drug resistant bacteria, which not only impair the effectiveness of existing antibiotics but also raise healthcare costs. To reduce the empirical treatments, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of causative microorganisms in clinical samples should be conducted for prescribing evidence-based antibiotics. However, most of culture-based ASTs suffer from inoculum effect and lack differentiation of target pathogen and commensals, hampering their adoption for evidence-based antibiotic prescription.

Enzymatic Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing with Bacteria Identification in 30 min.

Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) with the ability of bacterial identification is urgently needed for evidence-based antibiotic prescription. Herein, we propose an enzymatic AST (enzyAST) that employs β-d-glucuronidase as a biomarker to identify pathogens and profile phenotypic susceptibilities simultaneously. EnzyAST enables to offer binary AST results within 30 min, much faster than standard methods (>16 h).

Direct single-cell antimicrobial susceptibility testing of in urine using a ready-to-use 3D microwell array chip.

Empirical antibiotic therapies are prescribed for treating uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) due to the long turnaround time of conventional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), leading to the prevalence of multi-drug resistant pathogens. We present a ready-to-use 3D microwell array chip to directly conduct comprehensive AST of pathogenic agents in urine at the single-cell level. The developed device features a highly integrated 3D microwell array, offering a dynamic range from 10 to 10 CFU mL, and a capillary valve-based flow distributor for flow equidistribution in dispensing channels and uniform sample distribution.

All-In-One Viability Assay for Multi-dimensional Detection of Uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections.

The urinary tract infections by antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been a serious public health problem and increase the healthcare costs. The conventional technologies of diagnosis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) relying on multiple culture-based assays are time-consuming and labor-intensive and thus compel the empirical antimicrobial therapies to be prescribed, fueling the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance. Herein, we propose an all-in-one viability assay in an enclosed 3D microwell array chip, termed digital β-d-glucuronidase (GUS)-AST assay.

A Specific and Sensitive Aptamer-Based Digital PCR Chip for Detection.

Food poisoning and infectious diseases caused by () are serious public health concerns for human health and food safety. The diversity and complexity of food matrices pose great challenges for rapid and ultra-sensitive detection of in food samples. A method capable of identification, detection, and quantification of is essential for addressing these issues.

A large-scale pico-droplet array for viable bacteria digital counting and dynamic tracking based on a thermosetting oil.

The rapid and accurate detection of viable bacteria is of great importance in food quality monitoring and clinical diagnosis. () is a major pathogenic bacterium, which causes potential threats to food safety and human health. Therefore, rapid and portable methods for preventing outbreaks are needed.

Integrated microfluidic systems with sample preparation and nucleic acid amplification.

Rapid, efficient and accurate nucleic acid molecule detection is important in the screening of diseases and pathogens, yet remains a limiting factor at point of care (POC) treatment. Microfluidic systems are characterized by fast, integrated, miniaturized features which provide an effective platform for qualitative and quantitative detection of nucleic acid molecules. The nucleic acid detection process mainly includes sample preparation and target molecule amplification.

Effect of preliminary stresses on the resistance of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus toward non-thermal plasma (NTP) challenge.

As the development of hurdle technology, cross-protection of various stresses for pathogens posed the potential risk to food safety and public health. This study tried to explore various preliminary stresses including acidity, osmosis, oxidation, heat and cold on the resistance of microbial cells toward the non-thermal plasma (NTP) exposure. The results indicated that short-term (4h) exposure of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli to acidity, osmosis, oxidation, heat and cold stresses did not lead to the resistance to the subsequent NTP treatment.

Application of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Atmospheric Cold Plasma (Dbd-Acp) for Eshcerichia Coli Inactivation in Apple Juice.

Unlabelled: Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is a promising non-thermal technology in food industry. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)-ACP exhibited strong bactericidal effect on Escherichia coli in apple juice. Under a 30 to 50 W input power, less than 40 s treatment time was required for DBD-ACP to result in 3.

Analysis of Staphylococcus aureus cell viability, sublethal injury and death induced by synergistic combination of ultrasound and mild heat.

This study was designed to investigate the combined effects of ultrasound and mild heat on the viability of S. aureus in association with the cell membrane integrity and intracellular enzyme activity. Cells were treated by ultrasound under 55°C for 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15min.

A Multiplex RT-PCR Assay for , and spp. Detection in Raw Milk with Pre-enrichment.

This study firstly developed a multiplex real-time PCR (RT-PCR) technique combined with a pre-enrichment step to simultaneously detect (), () and spp. in raw milk and the dairy farm environment (feces, soil, feed, water) in one reaction. Brain heart infusion (BHI) broth was selected for the enrichment step to increase the density of the target bacteria by using an incubation of 4 h before multiplex RT-PCR.

Significance of Viable but Nonculturable : Induction, Detection, and Control.

Diseases caused by foodborne or waterborne pathogens are emerging. Many pathogens can enter into the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state, which is a survival strategy when exposed to harsh environmental stresses. Pathogens in the VBNC state have the ability to evade conventional microbiological detection methods, posing a significant and potential health risk.