Applied Nanolayers BV (ANL) and SoundCell BV (a spin-off from Technische Universiteit Delft TUD), today announced they have received 275,000 EUR R&D funding from Provincie Zuid-Holland to develop a prototype for SoundCell’s high throughput single-cell graphene antibiotic sensitivity test.

The announcement follows research undertaken at TU Delft and published in Nature Nanotechnology last year where ultrathin bilayer graphene was used to detect nanoscale forces – at least 1000 times smaller than a mosquito bite – generated by single bacteria.

By tracking the changes in the bacteria’s nanomotion when different types of antibiotics are administered, the team were able to demonstrate that graphene drums can effectively perform antibiotic susceptibility testing with single-cell sensitivity.

This breakthrough in measuring antibiotic efficacy has major implications for public health worldwide. The technology has the potential to enable very fast antibiotic testing in healthcare settings, giving physicians a much more effective diagnostic toolkit for fast detection of antibiotic resistance in clinical practice, leading to more effective treatment, and acting as an invaluable tool in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

The 18-month project will optimise the antibiotic sensitivity platform, bringing it closer to market. Enhancing the throughput of the platform, developing faster read-out schemes, and validating it against a variety of pathogenic samples, the funding will accelerate development of a clinical-grade graphene-based antibiotic screening device that is manufacturable in high volumes.

Paul Hedges, CEO of Applied Nanolayers, said, “The team at SoundCell has made a phenomenal scientific breakthrough, and ANL will provide the quality and volumes of graphene needed to deliver on that vast potential. Our work over the next few months will therefore focus on delivering suitably sensitive chips with arrays of graphene membranes that can be reliably manufactured in the high volumes that will be required by healthcare providers.”

Aleksandre Japaridze, CEO of SoundCell, added: “Proving the commercial viability of this test over the next 18 months represents the cutting edge of the fight against antibiotic resistance, an ever-increasing threat to human health. It is an issue that demands innovative and-out-of-the box solutions and using graphene to detect nanoscale vibrations offers a unique method for monitoring the efficacy of antibiotics.

“By developing a much faster and more sensitive method for diagnosing bacterial resistance – that can be used by doctors worldwide – our work with ANL is a critical effort in the fight against a threat that endangers millions of lives worldwide.”