LAUSR

Antimicrobial resistant bacteria have been recognised as a global threat and require a robust and collective response from every stakeholder of the society and public health institutions. Currently available technologies to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have been found to be time-consuming, expensive, labour intensive and central labbased which poses increasing challenges, especially in remote areas where resources are limited. In contrast to most of the conventional technologies, microfluidics has become an enabling platform for AMR testing, allowing simple, robust, cost-effective and portable diagnostics. Various microfluidics techniques have been developed and tested for bacterial identification and determination of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), demonstrating a broader understanding of the behaviour of antimicrobial resistant strains, and development of antimicrobial susceptibility (AST) tools. Miniaturised microfluidic systems have led to the integration of various tools on a single platform such as sample handling, controlled reactions and on-chip detections towards portable, simple, easy to use and POC diagnostics in clinical environments. However, the benefits of microfluidics technology have not been fully exploited in tackling AMR because current microfluidic-based studies provide valuable information about the antibiotic resistance but are far from deployment in clinical settings. Hence, there is a lack of reliable and accurate systems in the market. AMR is an ever-growing threat and microfluidics must act faster to provide commercially viable techniques to combat resistant bacteria and guide clinical decisions. This article reviews the current microfluidic-based technologies for rapid AST testing and future prospects of the microfluidics technology for tackling AMR in clinical settings.