Antibiotic levels measurable in breath

Date:
September 21, 2021
Source:
University of Freiburg
Summary:
A team of engineers and biotechnologists has shown in mammals that
the concentration of antibiotics in the body can be determined using
breath samples. The breath measurements also corresponded to the
antibiotic concentrations in the blood. The team's biosensor --
a multiplex chip that allows simultaneous measurement of several
specimens and test substances -- will in future enable personalized
dosing of medicines against infectious diseases on-site and help
to minimize the development of resistant strains of bacteria.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A team of engineers and biotechnologists at the University of Freiburg
has for the first time shown in mammals that the concentration of
antibiotics in the body can be determined using breath samples. The breath measurements also corresponded to the antibiotic concentrations in the
blood. The team's biosensor -- a multiplex chip that allows simultaneous measurement of several specimens and test substances -- will in future
enable personalized dosing of medicines against infectious diseases
on-site and help to minimize the development of resistant strains of
bacteria.


==========================================================================
The sensor developed by the research group headed by Dr. Can Dincer and H.

Ceren Ates, FIT Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, and Prof. Dr. Wilfried Weber, Professor of Synthetic Biology
and a member of the team of speakers at the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS
-- Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies, is based on
synthetic proteins that react to antibiotics and thus generate a current change. The researchers' results are now being published in the journal Advanced Materials.

Previously researchers could only detect traces of antibiotics in the
breath The researchers tested the biosensor on the blood, plasma, urine,
saliva and breath samples of pigs who had received antibiotics. They were
able to show that the result achieved with biosensors in the pigs' plasma
were as accurate as the standard medical laboratory process. Previously, measurement of antibiotic levels in exhaled breath samples was not
possible: "Until now researchers could only detect traces of antibiotics
in the breath. With our synthetic proteins on a microfluidic chip, we
can determine the smallest concentrations in the breath condensate and
they correlate with the blood values," explains Dincer.

Sensor will help to keep antibiotic level stable in severely ill
Physicians need to keep the antibiotics level within a personalized
therapeutic range for patients suffering severe infections, at the risk
of threats such as sepsis and organ failure or even the death of the
patient. Inadequate administration of antibiotics could allow bacteria to mutate so that the medicines no longer work: they become resistant. "Rapid monitoring of antibiotic levels would be a huge advantage in hospital,"
says Ates, "it might be possible to fit the method into a conventional
face mask." In another project at the University of Freiburg, Dincer
is developing wearable paper sensors for the continuous measurement of biomarkers from exhaled breath.

Clinical trials to validate the antibiotic biosensor by testing the
system with human samples are planned.

Bacterial proteins as sensor The microfluidic biosensor bears proteins
that can recognize beta-lactam antibiotics such as penicillin,
affixed to a polymer film. Antibiotic of interest in the sample and an enzyme-coupled beta-lactam are in competition to bind these bacterial
proteins. This competition generates a current change - - like in a
battery: the more antibiotic there is present in the sample, the less
enzyme product develops, which leads to a lower measurable current. The
process is based on a natural receptor protein that resistant bacteria
uses to detect the antibiotics that threatens them. "You could say we
are beating the bacteria at their own game," Weber says of the process developed by his group.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Freiburg. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. H. Ceren Ates, Hasti Mohsenin, Christin Wenzel, Regina T. Glatz,
Hanna J.

Wagner, Richard Bruch, Nico Ho"fflin, Sashko Spassov, Lea Streicher,
Sara Lozano‐Zahonero, Bernd Flamm, Rainer Trittler, Martin
J. Hug, Maja Ko"hn, Johannes Schmidt, Stefan Schumann, Gerald
A. Urban, Wilfried Weber, Can Dincer. Biosensor‐Enabled
Multiplexed On‐Site Therapeutic Drug Monitoring
of Antibiotics. Advanced Materials, 2021; 2104555 DOI:
10.1002/adma.202104555 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210921125125.htm

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