Publication

Automated Open-Source Optical Nanomotion Platform for Rapid Phenotypic Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

2026

Abstract

We report a fully integrated, low-cost, autonomous optical nanomotion analysis platform for rapid phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The system combines a 3D-printed OpenFlexure microscope with Raspberry Pi-based autofocus, time-lapse acquisition, and onboard image processing. Nanomotion is quantified from frame-to-frame intensity fluctuations in detected single cells, without labels or external computation. Antibiotic-sensitive strains show a marked reduction in nanomotion within 2–3 h, whereas resistant strains maintain stable signals. Dose–response and nutrient-modulation experiments confirm that the signal reflects metabolic activity. This platform enables scalable, growth-independent phenotypic testing for decentralized and resource-limited settings.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/f7ab7b31-6706-406f-8576-1be021deb326

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2026

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/f7ab7b31-6706-406f-8576-1be021deb326

About this result

Related concepts (24)

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from the effects of antimicrobials (drugs used to treat infections). All classes of microbes can evolve resistance where the drugs are no longer effective. Fungi evolve antifungal resistance. Viruses evolve antiviral resistance. Protozoa evolve antiprotozoal resistance, and bacteria evolve antibiotic resistance. Together all of these come under the umbrella of antimicrobial resistance.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common encapsulated, Gram-negative, aerobic–facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium that can cause disease in plants and animals, including humans. A species of considerable medical importance, P. aeruginosa is a multidrug resistant pathogen recognized for its ubiquity, its intrinsically advanced antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and its association with serious illnesses – hospital-acquired infections such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and various sepsis syndromes.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains of Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It caused more than 100,000 deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance in 2019. MRSA is any strain of S. aureus that has developed (through natural selection) or acquired (through horizontal gene transfer) a multiple drug resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics.