Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery

Molloy, Antonia; Harrison, James; McGrath, John S.; Owen, Zachary; Smith, Clive; Liu, Xin; Li, Xin; Cox, Jonathan A. G.

doi:10.3390/microorganisms9112330

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Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery

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School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK

Sphere Fluidics Limited, The McClintock Building, Suite 7, Granta Park, Great Abington, Cambridge CB21 6GP, UK

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Juan M. Gonzalez

Microorganisms 2021, 9(11), 2330; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112330

Received: 28 September 2021 / Revised: 1 November 2021 / Accepted: 3 November 2021 / Published: 11 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Methods in Microbial Research 2.0)

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Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global healthcare crisis, with an estimated 5.8 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths in 2020. TB is caused by infection with the major human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is difficult to rapidly diagnose and treat. There is an urgent need for new methods of diagnosis, sufficient in vitro models that capably mimic all physiological conditions of the infection, and high-throughput drug screening platforms. Microfluidic-based techniques provide single-cell analysis which reduces experimental time and the cost of reagents, and have been extremely useful for gaining insight into monitoring microorganisms. This review outlines the field of microfluidics and discusses the use of this novel technique so far in M. tuberculosis diagnostics, research methods, and drug discovery platforms. The practices of microfluidics have promising future applications for diagnosing and treating TB. View Full-Text

Keywords: tuberculosis; Mycobacterium; diagnostics; drug discovery; antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; microfluidics; single-cell analysis; bioengineered models

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MDPI and ACS Style

Molloy, A.; Harrison, J.; McGrath, J.S.; Owen, Z.; Smith, C.; Liu, X.; Li, X.; Cox, J.A.G. Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery. Microorganisms 2021, 9, 2330. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112330

AMA Style

Molloy A, Harrison J, McGrath JS, Owen Z, Smith C, Liu X, Li X, Cox JAG. Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery. Microorganisms. 2021; 9(11):2330. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112330

Chicago/Turabian Style

Molloy, Antonia, James Harrison, John S. McGrath, Zachary Owen, Clive Smith, Xin Liu, Xin Li, and Jonathan A.G. Cox. 2021. "Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery" Microorganisms 9, no. 11: 2330. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9112330

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Microfluidics as a Novel Technique for Tuberculosis: From Diagnostics to Drug Discovery

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