Gold Nanoprobe Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-conjugating antibodies and glucose oxidase to gold nanoparticles before the actual testing process. This preparation allows the test to proceed directly with clinical samples without requiring prior bacterial culturing, reducing the testing time from days to hours while maintaining detection accuracy through the pre-assembled sensing probes.

The patent replaces the traditional mechanical/culture-based growth system with a biochemical detection system using gold nanoparticles. Instead of waiting for bacterial growth in culture media, the method uses antibody-gold nanoparticle conjugates that directly bind to bacterial cells and enable rapid detection through colorimetric changes, substituting a slow biological growth process with a faster biochemical reaction.

The patent employs disposable gold nanoparticle-based test strips or plates that can be used once and then discarded. These simple, low-cost devices eliminate the need for expensive automated machines while providing comparable measurement precision. The gold nanoparticle conjugates serve as single-use reagents that provide accurate results without requiring complex infrastructure.

The patent utilizes color changes of gold nanoparticles as a visual readout mechanism for detecting antibiotic susceptibility. The gold nanoparticles exhibit distinct color changes based on their aggregation state, which is influenced by bacterial growth inhibition. This optical detection method replaces complex electronic sensors and automated analysis systems with simple visual or spectrophotometric measurement, significantly reducing device complexity.