Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing via Surface Binding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods are time-consuming, often taking over eight hours, leading to delayed patient treatment and increased antimicrobial resistance, as they require overnight processes due to shift work in clinical microbiology laboratories, resulting in the use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials with detrimental effects on patients and contributing to the antimicrobial resistance epidemic.
Innovation Solution
A rapid AST method using non-specific surface binding assays that provide accurate results in under four hours, employing signaling agents like Europium compounds to bind non-specifically to microorganisms, allowing for signal amplification and differentiation of resistant and sensitive strains, and is compatible with existing equipment for immediate treatment regimen determination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If current AST methods are used, then accurate antimicrobial susceptibility determination is achieved, but the testing time is excessively long (over eight hours)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and measures only the essential component needed for AST determination - the intact microorganism surface - rather than waiting for complete microbial growth. By using surface-binding signaling agents that attach to intact microorganisms, the method obtains AST results in under four hours without requiring the full growth cycle, thus resolving the contradiction between measurement accuracy and time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary binding of signaling agents to intact microorganisms before complete growth occurs. The signaling agents bind to the surface of intact microorganisms immediately upon addition, allowing the assay to measure antimicrobial susceptibility based on surface binding rather than waiting for microbial proliferation, thereby significantly reducing testing time while maintaining accuracy.
2Loss of time
If non-specific surface binding assays are used, then testing time is reduced to under four hours, but the binding mechanism becomes less specific
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs signaling agents with cationic surfaces that universally bind to the anionic surfaces of intact microorganisms through electrostatic interactions. This non-specific but consistent binding mechanism works across different microorganism types and maintains measurement precision because the binding occurs only to intact surfaces, providing a universal assay that is both rapid and accurate.
3Speed
If broad-spectrum antimicrobials are administered during the waiting period, then patient treatment is initiated, but detrimental effects on patient health and antimicrobial resistance occur
Solution Approach 1:
The rapid AST method enables the diagnostic system to serve itself by providing results in under four hours, allowing physicians to make informed treatment decisions without relying on broad-spectrum empiric therapy. The speed of the assay eliminates the need for prolonged empiric treatment, thereby preventing the harmful effects and resistance development associated with unnecessary broad-spectrum antimicrobial use.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly reduces the time to obtain AST results, improving patient outcomes, lowering hospital costs, and helping to combat antimicrobial resistance by enabling timely and appropriate antimicrobial treatment, while being cost-effective and adaptable to existing clinical laboratory settings.
Implementation Method 1
non-specific surface binding assays that provide accurate and rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) determinations
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates, in part, to methods and kits for rapidly determining antimicrobial susceptibility of microorganisms.