Abstract
Rapid bacterial antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) measurement are important to help reduce the widespread misuse of antibiotics and alleviate the growing drug-resistance problem. We discovered that, when a susceptible strain of Staphylococcus aureus or Escherichia coli is exposed to an antibiotic, the intensity of specific biomarkers in its surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra drops evidently in two hours. The discovery has been exploited for rapid AST and MIC determination of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and wild-type E. coli as well as clinical isolates. The results obtained by this SERS-AST method were consistent with that by the standard incubation-based method, indicating its high potential to supplement or replace existing time-consuming methods and help mitigate the challenge of drug resistance in clinical microbiology.
Highlights
(such as β-lactamases), identifying resistant strains, and observing the change in protein mass spectrum in the presence of an antibiotic
The demonstration of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) method in AST and determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were carried out in prototypical Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) as well as clinical isolates of several bacterial species. In this proof-of-concept study, the SERS spectra of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and wild-type E. coli treated by oxacillin and imipenem respectively are recorded as a function of treatment time and the decreases in the respective biomarker signals are employed to indicate the effectiveness of the antibiotics
Oxacillin and imipenem both belong to the family of beta-lactam antibiotics, which exerts their antimicrobial activities through binding to the penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), by which inhibited the cell wall synthesis and cause bacterial death
Summary
(such as β-lactamases), identifying resistant strains, and observing the change in protein mass spectrum in the presence of an antibiotic. Resistant and susceptible strains were differentiated based on an empirical ‘vancomycin effect score’ derived from the changes of bacteria Raman spectra[19] All of these new techniques are still under development and have not replaced the traditional AST methods. The demonstration of the SERS method in AST and determination of MIC were carried out in prototypical Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) as well as clinical isolates of several bacterial species In this proof-of-concept study, the SERS spectra of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and wild-type E. coli treated by oxacillin and imipenem respectively are recorded as a function of treatment time and the decreases in the respective biomarker signals are employed to indicate the effectiveness of the antibiotics.
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