A graphene microelectrode array based microfluidic device for in situ continuous monitoring of biofilms

In situ continuous monitoring of bacterial biofilms has been a challenging job so far, but it is fundamental to the screening of novel anti-biofilm reagents. In this work, a microfluidic system utilizing a graphene-modified microelectrode array sensor was proposed to realize the dynamic state of bacterial biofilm monitoring by electrochemical impedance. The results illustrated that the observation window period of the biofilm state is significantly prolonged due to the increment of bacterial cell load on the sensing interface, thereby greatly improving the sensing signal quality. Simulation of anti-biofilm drug screening demonstrated that the performance of this method manifestly exceeded that of its endpoint counterparts.

Automated summary

In this study, a microfluidic system using a graphene-modified microelectrode array sensor was proposed for real-time monitoring of bacterial biofilms through electrochemical impedance. The results showed that increasing bacterial cell load on the sensing interface significantly prolonged the observation window period of the biofilm state, thereby improving the sensing signal quality. Simulation studies demonstrated that this method outperformed traditional endpoint detection in anti-biofilm drug screening.