Simultaneous monitoring of Staphylococcus aureus growth in a multi-parametric microfluidic platform using microscopy and impedance spectroscopy

•A scalable microfluidic platform with continuous monitoring of biofilm proliferation under shear stress was characterized.•Multi-parametric sensor that can monitor the growth and activity of a biofilm was integrated in the platform.•Interdigitated microelectrodes, were optimized allowing sensitive and reliable impedance monitoring of Staphylococcus aureus.•The structural and morphological changes on the biofilm using two and four-electrode were monitored simultaneously

We describe the design, construction, and characterization of a scalable microfluidic platform that allows continuous monitoring of biofilm proliferation under shear stress conditions. Compared to other previous end-point assay studies, our platform offers the advantages of integration into multiple environments allowing simultaneous optical microscopy and impedance spectroscopy measurements. In this work we report a multi-parametric sensor that can monitor the growth and activity of a biofilm. This was possible by combining two interdigitated microelectrodes (IDuEs), and punctual electrodes to measure dissolved oxygen, K +, Na + and pH. The IDuE has been optimized to permit sensitive and reliable impedance monitoring of Staphylococcus aureus V329 growth with two- and four-electrode measurements. We distinguished structural and morphological changes on intact cellular specimens using four-electrode data modeling. We also detected antibiotic mediated effects using impedance. Results were confirmed by scanning electrode microscopy and fluorescence microscopy after live/dead cell staining. The bacitracin mediated effects detected with impedance prove that the approach described can be used for guiding the development of novel anti-biofilm agents to better address bacterial infection.

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