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Research Foundation · Intelligent Diagnostics

Pathogen & AMR
Diagnostics.

Microfluidic, electrochemical, and connected diagnostic systems for rapid bacterial detection, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and point-of-care antimicrobial-resistance assessment.

Pathogen DetectionAMRASTMicrofluidicsElectrochemistryOn-Chip IncubationPoint-of-CareConnected Diagnostics
Explore platforms →Bacteria-on-Chip →

Diagnostic Challenge

Faster diagnostics can support better antimicrobial decisions.

Conventional phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing is reliable but generally depends on bacterial culture and extended turnaround times. Molecular methods can be faster but may require specialized infrastructure and trained personnel.

Microfluidic systems offer a route toward integrating bacterial detection, controlled culture, antimicrobial exposure, electrochemical monitoring, and interpretation into compact sample-to-answer workflows.

30 min

Pathogen Detection

5 h

Integrated AST

04

Parallel Antibiotics

POC

Portable Architecture

Antimicrobial resistance diagnostic landscape

System Goal

Bring culture, sensing, AST, and interpretation into one device.

The technology evolution progressively combines more of the diagnostic chain within the same engineered architecture, reducing dependence on separate laboratory instruments and workflows.

Technology Evolution

From bacterial growth monitoring to multiplexed point-of-care AST.

The programme progresses through bacterial culture and detection, rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing, standardized lab-on-chip engineering, and ultimately a portable multiplexed diagnostic system.

01

Detection

Real-time bacterial monitoring

02

Rapid AST

Antibiotic response on-chip

03

Protocol

Reproducible system engineering

04

Bacteria-on-Chip

Integrated point-of-care platform

Real-Time Microfluidic Bacterial Detection
2023
01

Platform 01

Real-Time Microfluidic Bacterial Detection

Culture · Electrochemistry · Microfluidics

A miniaturized electrochemical microfluidic platform developed for simultaneous culturing and real-time monitoring of Escherichia coli growth.

  • Screen-printed three-electrode system integrated with a PDMS microfluidic reservoir.
  • Graphitized mesoporous carbon-modified working electrode for bacterial detection.
  • Integrated thermal management for incubator-free bacterial culturing.
  • Continuous electrochemical monitoring of bacterial growth using cyclic voltammetry.
  • Demonstrated in a real food matrix using mango juice.
LoD · 0.35 CFU/mLLoQ · 1.05 CFU/mL36 h real-time monitoring
Read publication →
Rapid Electromicrofluidic Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing
2023
02

Platform 02

Rapid Electromicrofluidic Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

AST · LIG Heater · Electrochemical Monitoring

The bacterial-detection platform was extended toward rapid phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing by combining electrochemistry, microfluidics, and localized laser-induced graphene heating.

  • Miniaturized microfluidic reservoirs integrated with screen-printed electrodes.
  • Laser-induced graphene heater maintained bacterial culture near physiological incubation temperature.
  • Simultaneous screening of multiple antibiotics against E. coli.
  • Electrochemical monitoring of antibiotic-induced changes in bacterial growth.
  • Validated using tap water and synthetic urine samples.
AST · within 6 h4 antibiotics screenedWater + synthetic urine
Read publication →
Reproducible Lab-on-Chip Protocol
2023
03

Platform 03

Reproducible Lab-on-Chip Protocol

Fabrication · LIG Heating · Bacterial Culture

A detailed experimental protocol established the complete fabrication and operating workflow for simultaneous bacterial culture and electrochemical detection on a lab-on-chip platform.

  • Step-by-step screen-printed electrode fabrication.
  • Fabrication and optimization of a laser-induced graphene heater.
  • PDMS microfluidic-device fabrication and integration.
  • Portable electrochemical measurement using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry.
  • Metabolic activity monitored using microfluidic bioelectrochemical principles.
Integrated fabrication protocolLIG heating · ~37 °CPortable electrochemistry
Read publication →
Bacteria-on-Chip
2026
04

Platform 04

Bacteria-on-Chip

Multiplexed · Portable · Smartphone-Integrated

A fully portable bacteria-on-chip platform combining pathogen-selective electrochemical sensing, on-chip incubation, multiplexed AST, embedded potentiostat electronics, and a smartphone-enabled user interface.

  • Four three-electrode systems integrated on a single ITO-based sensing chip.
  • Gold nanoparticle-enhanced immunosensor functionalized with anti-E. coli monoclonal antibodies.
  • Microfluidic reservoirs integrated with an on-chip heating module.
  • Swappable sensing cartridge interfacing with a multichannel portable potentiostat.
  • BLE-enabled graphical user interface for control and real-time electrochemical visualization.
E. coli detection · 30 minAST · 5 h4 antibiotics simultaneously
Read publication →

Integrated Platform

Bacteria-on-Chip integrates the diagnostic chain.

The portable system integrates pathogen-selective immunosensing, multiplexed electrochemistry, microfluidic reservoirs, thermal incubation, multichannel potentiostat electronics, a swappable sensing cartridge, and a connected graphical user interface.

30 min

Pathogen detection

5 h

Antibiotic susceptibility testing

4

Antibiotics tested simultaneously

BLE

Connected user interface

Read Bacteria-on-Chip paper →
Portable Bacteria-on-Chip point-of-care diagnostic platform

Diagnostic Workflow

Sample to susceptibility result.

The workflow connects bacterial detection with controlled incubation, antibiotic exposure, electrochemical monitoring, and portable interpretation.

01

Sample

Clinical, environmental, food, urine, or other bacterial samples enter the diagnostic workflow.

02

Pathogen Detection

Electrochemical or biorecognition interfaces identify bacterial presence and concentration.

03

On-Chip Culture

Integrated heaters and microfluidics provide controlled conditions for bacterial growth.

04

Antibiotic Exposure

Parallel chambers expose bacterial samples to selected antimicrobial agents.

05

AST

Changes in bacterial growth and electrochemical behaviour identify susceptibility or resistance.

06

Decision Support

Portable electronics and connected interfaces translate measurements into actionable results.

Lab-on-chip bacterial detection protocol

Platform Engineering

Diagnostics built as integrated engineered systems.

The underlying platform combines electrode fabrication, nanomaterial modification, laser-induced graphene heating, microfluidic fabrication, bacterial culture, and electrochemical measurement.

This modular architecture allows individual components to evolve while preserving a common lab-on-chip framework for pathogen detection and antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Research Capabilities

An end-to-end AMR diagnostic technology stack.

Individual technologies are designed to work together as part of an integrated diagnostic system rather than as isolated sensing components.

01

Microfluidic Culture

Miniaturized reservoirs and chambers for controlled bacterial growth and sample handling.

02

Electrochemical Detection

CV, DPV, EIS, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical monitoring of bacterial activity.

03

Rapid AST

Phenotypic assessment of bacterial response to multiple antibiotics in parallel.

04

Thermal Management

LIG and printed microheaters for localized bacterial incubation and closed-loop temperature control.

05

Biorecognition

Nanomaterial-enhanced antibody-functionalized interfaces for pathogen-selective detection.

06

Portable Instrumentation

Embedded multichannel potentiostat electronics integrated into compact diagnostic hardware.

07

Connected Diagnostics

Bluetooth, smartphone applications, GUI interfaces, and real-time electrochemical visualization.

08

Point-of-Care Translation

Integrated sensing, culture, AST, electronics, packaging, and user interfaces within portable systems.

Applications

Rapid bacterial diagnostics across multiple settings.

01

Clinical Diagnostics

Rapid bacterial identification and phenotypic susceptibility testing closer to the patient.

02

Urinary Tract Infection

Portable workflows for pathogen detection and antimicrobial susceptibility analysis in urine-related samples.

03

Food Safety

Detection and monitoring of bacterial contamination in food and beverage matrices.

04

Environmental Monitoring

Decentralized bacterial assessment in water and other environmental samples.

Research Demonstration

See the platform in operation.

The demonstration highlights the integration of microfluidics, bacterial culture, electrochemical detection, thermal management, and portable instrumentation.

Watch on YouTube →

Selected Publications

Research underpinning the AMR diagnostic programme.

View all publications →
01

Analytica Chimica Acta · 2023

Microfluidic electrochemical device for real-time culturing and interference-free detection of Escherichia coli

Sonal Fande, Khairunnisa Amreen, D. Sriram and Sanket Goel

DOI · 10.1016/j.aca.2022.340591

View paper →
02

Sensors · 2023

Electromicrofluidic Device for Interference-Free Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing of Escherichia coli from Real Samples

Sonal Fande, Khairunnisa Amreen, D. Sriram, Valentin Mateev and Sanket Goel

DOI · 10.3390/s23239314

View paper →
03

STAR Protocols · 2023

A protocol to execute a lab-on-chip platform for simultaneous culture and electrochemical detection of bacteria

Sonal Fande, Sangam Srikanth, Jayapiriya U S, Khairunnisa Amreen, Satish Kumar Dubey, Arshad Javed and Sanket Goel

DOI · 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102327

View paper →
04

Microchemical Journal · 2025

Antimicrobial resistance detection: Rapid transition to point-of-care platforms

Amir Ibrahim Madaje, Sonal Fande, D. Sriram and Sanket Goel

DOI · 10.1016/j.microc.2025.115471

View paper →
05

Sensors & Diagnostics · 2026

Bacteria-on-chip: a multiplexed point-of-care electrochemical platform for rapid detection of Escherichia coli and antimicrobial susceptibility testing

Sonal Fande, Areon Banerjee and Sanket Goel

DOI · 10.1039/D6SD00063K

View paper →
View all publications →

Intelligent Diagnostics at SenSys

Toward rapid sample-to-answer AMR diagnostics.

This technology foundation supports next-generation pathogen and antimicrobial-resistance platforms integrating microfluidic sample handling, multiplexed biosensing, controlled incubation, rapid AST, portable instrumentation, connected interfaces, and intelligent data interpretation.

The longer-term direction is to move from individual sensing functions toward integrated point-of-care systems capable of supporting timely and evidence-based antimicrobial decisions.

SenSys Research →Join SenSys →

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