Integrated Photonic Crystal Nanotweezers for Bacteria and Bacteriophages Viruses Trapping and Susceptibility Testing

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to public health. This resistance is due to multiple factors such as natural bacterial mutations, but above all to the overuse of antibiotics in agronomic and medical practices. Traditional antimicrobial susceptibility testing relies on time-consuming bacterial growth processes. We will present the results of a new method enabling antibiotic or phage susceptibility testing with single phages or bacteria trapped in an optical chip. The system used is a photonic chip containing hollow photonic crystal cavities topped by a microfluidic system for transporting bacteria and phages. We will present the optical signature of bacterial and phage trapping in the transmitted light that excites the optical trap. This makes it possible to distinguish between different phage families, as well as the level of stress or death of a single bacterium in the presence of antibiotics or phages.