Magnetic Counter for Group B Streptococci Detection in Milk

Identification of bovine mastitis pathogens is necessary to control the disease, reduce the risk of chronic infections, and target the antimicrobial therapy to be prescribed. Development prospects for new bovine mastitis diagnosis methodologies go also through rapid and efficient devices that can offer a "cow-side" use, meaning that raw milk collected for analysis should have limited pretreatment. This paper aims at developing a magnetic counter that identifies the presence of Streptococcus agalactiae (a Group B Streptococci) in raw milk. The detection is done with an integrated microfluidic platform, where 50 nm magnetic beads attached to Streptococcus agalactiae are dynamically detected by magnetoresistive sensors. This device allows the analysis of raw milk without bridging the microfluidic channels, making this integrated platform very attractive for fast bacteriological contamination screening.