Deployable micro-traps to sequester motile bacteria

The development of strategies to reduce the load of unwanted bacteria is a fundamental challenge in industrial processing, environmental sciences and medical applications. Here, we report a new method to sequester motile bacteria from a liquid, based on passive, deployable micro-traps that confine b...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inScientific reports Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 45897
Main Authors Di Giacomo, Raffaele, Krödel, Sebastian, Maresca, Bruno, Benzoni, Patrizia, Rusconi, Roberto, Stocker, Roman, Daraio, Chiara
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 05.04.2017
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects
631/326/22
639/301/1005/190
639/766/747
Bacteria
Drug resistance
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Science
Traps
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The development of strategies to reduce the load of unwanted bacteria is a fundamental challenge in industrial processing, environmental sciences and medical applications. Here, we report a new method to sequester motile bacteria from a liquid, based on passive, deployable micro-traps that confine bacteria using micro-funnels that open into trapping chambers. Even in low concentrations, micro-traps afford a 70% reduction in the amount of bacteria in a liquid sample, with a potential to reach >90% as shown by modelling improved geometries. This work introduces a new approach to contain the growth of bacteria without chemical means, an advantage of particular importance given the alarming growth of pan-drug-resistant bacteria.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep45897