Rapid Pathogen Detection and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Assessment from Urine Samples Via Amplification-Free Detection of Ribosomal RNA of Single-Bacteria

We present a novel microfluidic platform for rapid detection and antimicrobial susceptibility assessment of bacteria directly from urine samples. Towards this end, we have developed a rapid and specific pathogen detection assay based on probe hybridization to bacterial ribosomal RNA. Our assay is implemented in an integrated microfluidic droplet platform capable of single-bacteria detection. The enhancement in speed and sensitivity enabled by the combination of our assay and platform facilitates rapid assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility directly from urine samples. Our platform can detect the effect of antibiotics on bacterial growth after as little as 10 min. drug exposure. We demonstrate the rapid response of our platform with 2 different classes of antibiotics.