System that can identify bacteria in less than 40 minutes could help physicians prescribe the appropriate antibiotics amid the ongoing antimicrobial resistance crisis

SOURCE: McGill Newsroom
February 13, 2026

Researchers at McGill University, including scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (The Institute), have developed a diagnostic system capable of identifying bacteria—and determining which antibiotics can stop them—in just 36 minutes, a major advance in the global effort to curb antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Current clinical testing methods typically take 48 to 72 hours, leaving physicians without timely guidance.

The researchers say this innovation arrives at a critical moment due to the urgency of the AMR crisis, which arises from bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics.

"We are losing the race against antimicrobial resistance," said Sara Mahshid, Associate Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and lead author on the Nature Nanotechnology study. "Every year, more than one million people die, more than from HIV/AIDS or malaria, and delayed treatment is a major driver. Rapid testing isn't a luxury; it's the missing link between diagnosis and survival."

Cutting inappropriate antibiotic use at the source

The team's solution, called QolorPhAST, is a compact, automated system that produces ultra-rapid vivid shifts in colour in its nanosensors when live bacteria metabolize. Inspired by nanoarchitectures found in nature, Mahsa Jalali and Tamer AbdElFatah, former PhD students in the Mahshid Lab, combined nanomaterials engineering, microfluidics, optical physics and machine learning throughout the development of this technology.

By coupling a fast colour response with machine-learning image analysis, QolorPhAST can determine both the identity of the bacteria and their susceptibility to antibiotics without requiring overnight cultures. In a blind clinical test with 54 urine samples, it achieved high accuracy as measured against gold-standard lab methods while delivering results in a fraction of the time.

The device, which is low-cost, portable and easy to use, is designed to be deployed widely, and can be used, for example, to inform treatment of sexually transmitted and urinary tract infections. The researchers are aiming for commercialization and hope to bring the product to market.

QolorPhAST was developed in Prof. Sara Mahshid's lab in collaboration with Cedric Yansouni, MD, and Dao Nguyen, MD, M.Sc., both members of the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health (IDIGH) Program at The Institute.

About the study

"Ultra-rapid nanoplasmonic colorimetry in microfluidics for antimicrobial susceptibility testing directly from specimens," by Mahsa Jalali, Tamer AbdElFatah, Carolina del Real Mata, Imman Hosseini, Sripadh Guptha Yedire, Geoffrey McKay, Rachel Corsini, Roozbeh Siavash Moakhar, Cedric Yansouni, Dao Nguyen and Sara Mahshid, was published in Nature Nanotechnology in February 2026.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02075-z

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