An integrated microfluidic system for diagnosis of quinolones resistance of helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a bacterium which can colonize the stomach mucosa and therefore play a crucial role in gastric diseases. Triple therapy treatment consisting of two antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor has been routinely taken to eradicate H. pylori. Recently, some point mutations were found in gyrase genes against Quinolones. The highly frequent mutation sites were indicated as single amino acid substitution discovered in gyrase A subunit. The epsilometer test has been commonly used to confirm the antibiotic resistance after triple therapy treatment. However, the method is time-consuming and false negative results with trace amounts of H. pylori could be easily induced. Alternatively, conventional molecular diagnostic techniques such as polymer chain reaction (PCR) could be used to confirm the antibiotic resistance of H. pylori. However, this diagnostic process is relatively labor-intensive and requires expensive and bulky apparatus. In this study a new method was therefore developed to perform molecular diagnostic techniques of SNP-PCR on an integrated microfluidic system to detect the Quinolones resistance of H. pylori.