Rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility by SRS single-cell metabolic imaging

Rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is urgently needed for treating infections with appropriate drugs and slowing down the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Conventional methods based on long-time culture take days to complete and do not work directly for clinical samples. In this chapter, we review the utility of SRS for the rapid determination of antimicrobial susceptibility of bacteria and fungi by single-cell metabolic imaging. With this transformative method, AST results can be obtained within one cell cycle by assessing the response of the metabolic activity of bacteria or fungi to antimicrobial treatment. In addition, this method works directly for clinical samples. This review highlights the potential of SRS microscopy for clinical applications.