Literature Seminar:

Bacterial testing is extensively utilized in the United States for health monitoring and preventative care. One situation in which it is particularly important is in the detection of Group B Streptococcus, or GBS, in pregnant individuals. GBS colonization during pregnancy is particularly dangerous for both the mother and child; it is estimated that 130,000 annual fetal & infant deaths are caused by preventable GBS disease. To combat this, testing and subsequent antibiotics are utilized to prevent GBS spread and infection. Unfortunately, in many lower-middle-income countries (LMIC), the GBS testing methodologies utilized by non-LMIC countries are not viable due to resource limitations. To address this testing disparity, easily accessible, cheap, and specific point-of-care assays for GBS are badly needed. Immiscible Filtration Assisted by Surface Tension (IFAST) systems are a potential tool for addressing this need. IFAST filtration leverages the interfacial energy present between immiscible liquids, allowing a single-step filtration and washing of bacteria captured by immunomagnetic microparticles. The microparticles with captured bacteria are magnetically drawn out of the aqueous solution and through the immiscible liquid interface, leaving behind any unbound material such as other bacteria, the aqueous solution itself, and other matrix components. This results in a simple-to-conduct filtration and washing procedure, opening the door for sensitive and specific immunoassays in areas where a laboratory environment is inaccessible.