Single-Bacterium Diagnosis via Terahertz Near-Field Dielectric Nanoimaging

Single-bacterium diagnostic methods with unprecedented precision and rapid turnaround times are promising tools for facilitating the transition from empirical treatment to personalized anti-infection treatment. Terahertz (THz) radiation, a cutting-edge technology for identifying pathogens, enables the label-free and non-destructive detection of intermolecular vibrational modes and bacterial dielectric properties. However, this individual dielectric property-based detection and the mismatched spatial resolution are limited for the single-bacterium identification of various species of pathogens. Here, we demonstrate a single-bacterium THz dielectric nanoimaging (STDN) strategy by customized THz scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy. The THz nanoimages of bacteria are explained and confirmed by theoretical modeling and near-field measurement. By synchronously tracking the bacterial intrinsic dielectric property and extrinsic morphology, the strategy achieved 99.3% and 91.6% accuracy in species identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing with the trained classifier within 2 hours. This proof-of-concept STDN strategy may propel precise bacterial infection management and help to counteract antibiotic resistance.

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Publication Details

Journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published
2025-03-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c22571
Citations
11
Primary Topic
Terahertz technology and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
8.03

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article

Single-Bacterium Diagnosis via Terahertz Near-Field Dielectric Nanoimaging

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11 citations
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Terahertz technology and applications
8.03
article

Single-Bacterium Diagnosis via Terahertz Near-Field Dielectric Nanoimaging

Xiaoqiuyan Zhang, Yubin Gong, Yanyu Wei, Tianwu Wang, Xingxing Xu, Jianjun Li, Xuequan Chen, Fu Tang, Weiling Fu, Jie Zhou, Marc Lamy de la Chapelle, Tianyu Zhang, Yunxia Wang, Min Hu, Xiang Zhao
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Single-bacterium diagnostic methods with unprecedented precision and rapid turnaround times are promising tools for facilitating the transition from empirical treatment to personalized anti-infection treatment. Terahertz (THz) radiation, a cutting-edge technology for identifying pathogens, enables the label-free and non-destructive detection of intermolecular vibrational modes and bacterial dielectric properties. However, this individual dielectric property-based detection and the mismatched spatial resolution are limited for the single-bacterium identification of various species of pathogens. Here, we demonstrate a single-bacterium THz dielectric nanoimaging (STDN) strategy by customized THz scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy. The THz nanoimages of bacteria are explained and confirmed by theoretical modeling and near-field measurement. By synchronously tracking the bacterial intrinsic dielectric property and extrinsic morphology, the strategy achieved 99.3% and 91.6% accuracy in species identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing with the trained classifier within 2 hours. This proof-of-concept STDN strategy may propel precise bacterial infection management and help to counteract antibiotic resistance.

ACS Applied Materials & InterfacesVol. 17(12)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (CN), Southwest General Health Center (US), University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN), Army Medical University (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Zomega Terahertz (United States) (US), Southwest Hospital (CN), Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans (FR), Aerospace Information Research Institute (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Terahertz technology and applications
8.03
DOISourceOpenAlex
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