Biosensor, app developed by IIT researchers can help anyone detect, quantify bacteria

It could tell apart bacteria live & dead in 6 hours, unlike the 16-24 hours that current methods need. Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi have developed a biosensor and a mobile app, which together can be used for bacterial detection. As live bacterial presence causes the biosensor surface colour to change into black, mobile app measures the relative change in surface colour. “Observing visible change in colour and water wetting on the sensor array, one can easily distinguish live and dead as well as antibiotic-resistant and normal bacteria,” said Prof J P Singh, who led the research team, while speaking to India Science Wire. The results showed that the mobile-app based biosensor could distinguish live and dead bacteria within six hours as compared to conventional methods, which take about 16 to 24 hours.