Ultrasensitive Label-Free Detection of Unamplified Multidrug-Resistance Bacteria Genes with a Bimodal Waveguide Interferometric Biosensor

Infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria are becoming a major healthcare emergence with millions of reported cases every year and an increasing incidence of deaths. An advanced diagnostic platform able to directly detect and identify antimicrobial resistance in a faster way than conventional techniques could help in the adoption of early and accurate therapeutic interventions, limiting the actual negative impact on patient outcomes. With this objective, we have developed a new biosensor methodology using an ultrasensitive nanophotonic bimodal waveguide interferometer (BiMW), which allows a rapid and direct detection, without amplification, of two prevalent and clinically relevant Gram-negative antimicrobial resistance encoding sequences: the extended-spectrum betalactamase-encoding gene blaCTX-M-15 and the carbapenemase-encoding gene blaNDM-5 We demonstrate the extreme sensitivity and specificity of our biosensor methodology for the detection of both gene sequences. Our results show that the BiMW biosensor can be employed as an ultrasensitive (attomolar level) and specific diagnostic tool for rapidly (less than 30 min) identifying drug resistance. The BiMW nanobiosensor holds great promise as a powerful tool for the control and management of healthcare-associated infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria.