Research conducted at the University of Central Florida has let to a new technique to quickly identify the specific strain of a given bacteria.
Perez [Professor J. Manuel Perez at UCF –ed.] uses gold nanoparticles coated with a sugar and a protein that binds to sugars. Meanwhile, a variety of antibiotics are placed in the same solution. A spectrophotometer reads optical variations in the gold nanoparticle solution as the sugar and protein shift , which in turn demonstrate which antibiotics effectively halt bacteria growth and which ones do not. Results can be obtained within a couple of hours, in contrast to the traditional methods, which can take days to complete. And hundreds of samples can be tested at once using this technique because the amount of bacteria and antibiotic needed is small.
Pharmaceutical companies can use existing equipment to read the variations, which means they do not have to buy new equipment. Perez’s study also shows that the technique is as sensitive and accurate as the traditional, more time-consuming approach.
University of Central Florida: UCF Technique Promises to Aid Doctors’ Ability to Identify, Treat Bacterial Infections