I-Corps: Rapid detection of pathogens using microfluidic dielectrophoresis and dielectric spectroscopy

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是提高微生物学家检测、表征和控制微生物（如细菌、真菌和病毒）的能力。总的来说，地球上的微生物群占所有生物质量的80%以上，并对人类健康和活动产生重大影响。有些微生物是有益的，具有有用的工业功能或治疗价值；另一些则会导致严重的疾病并扰乱工业进程。目前，微生物学家在实验室中培养微生物，以表征与复制、致病性、治疗和工业特性以及与宿主和环境的相互作用有关的分子和细胞机制。事实证明，这些目标在诊断工具、新疗法和改进工业流程方面取得了成功。然而，仍有很大一部分微生物无法得到有效培养。特别是在临床诊断中，准确及时地检测病原体的能力直接影响到患者的健康。该项目旨在通过加快从临床和工业样品中检测和分离微生物的时间来解决这一瓶颈。预计将分析样品所需的时间从几天减少到几个小时将显著改善临床结果和工业微生物学。这个I-Corps项目的重点是开发一种小型化的一次性设备，该设备可以自动进行样品处理和分析，以分离和表征细菌。它具有嵌入微流体通道的最先进的微电子阵列。该阵列产生具有特定频率的电场，以选择性地从临床和工业样品中存在的背景碎片和其他不需要的细胞中分离微生物。实验室原型已经证明了隔离和检测子系统的原理验证。在技术开发的下一阶段，这些组件将集成到单个设备中。该项目将通过客户发现工作为下一个原型提供具体的设计标准和要求。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to advance microbiologists' ability to detect, characterize, and control microscopic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Collectively, the planet's microbiome makes up more than 80% of all living mass and it significantly impacts human health and activities. Some microorganisms are beneficial, providing useful industrial functions or therapeutic value; others can cause severe disease and disrupt industrial processes. Currently, microbiologists grow microorganisms in their laboratories to characterize molecular and cellular mechanisms related to replication, pathogenicity, therapeutic and industrial properties, and interactions with the host and the environment. These goals have proven successful in the generation of diagnostic tools, new therapies, and improving industrial processes. However, a vast proportion of microorganisms remain unable to be efficiently cultivated. Particularly in clinical diagnostics, the ability to detect pathogens accurately and in a timely manner has a direct impact in patient health. This project seeks to address this bottleneck by accelerating the time to detect and isolate microbes from clinical and industrial samples. It is anticipated that reducing the time required to analyze samples from days to a few hours will lead to significant improvements in clinical outcomes and industrial microbiology.This I-Corps project focuses on developing a miniaturized and disposable device that automatically performs sample processing and analysis to isolate and characterize bacteria. It features state-of-the-art microelectronic arrays embedded in microfluidic channels. The array generates electrical force fields having specific frequencies to selectively isolate microorganisms from background debris and other undesired cells present in clinical and industrial samples. Laboratory prototypes have demonstrated proof-of-principle for the isolation and detection subsystems. In the next phase of the technical development, these components will be integrated into a single device. This project will inform the specific design criteria and requirements for this next prototype through customer discovery work.