Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Health

Glowing antibiotics reveal infections

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
October 16, 2013
in Health

A drug treated with a special dye allows doctors to monitor real-time bacterial growth.

glowing-antibiotics-reveal-bacterial-infections_1 Despite advancements in technology and despite all the effort put in by doctors, bacteria often manage to sneak onto medical implants such as bone screws, where they cause severe, possibly life-threatening infections. A new research published in Nature Communications suggests using fluorescent antibiotics to reveal this type of infections before they become too severe.

As lead author Marleen van Oosten explained, it’s very hard to tell the difference between normal post-surgical swelling and an infection – the only way to do that is a biopsy, which is itself an invasive procedure. The microbiologist from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands stressed that such infections can become massive problems, potentially growing and developing for years before they are finally discovered.

To better spot microbes in the body, van Oosten and her colleagues coloured the antibiotic vancomycin with a fluorescent dye to help identify infected tissues. If the bacteria isn’t present, then nothing really happens, but if there is a bacterial infection, the drug inserts itself into the thick cell walls of bacteria, and with the addition of the fluorescent dye, it makes the cell walls glow.

Researchers infected mice with Staphylococcus aureus and then gave them a very small dose of the antibiotic to them – enough to make the bacteria glow when viewed under a fluorescent microscope, but not enough to kill them. They then implanted metal plates coated with the fluorescent antibiotic into the shin bone of a human cadaver, 8 millimetres below the skin. Some of the plates had been covered with Staphylococcus epidermidis, a bacterium that grows on human skin. They could easily observe the plates glowing with a camera that detects fluorescence.

Niren Murthy, a biomedical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley is a supporter of this method, explaining that a method of detecting bacterial infections is badly needed. But he also points out a potential problem – will the fluorescent molecules be strong enough to be seen if there are is a small, incipient number of bacteria in the human body ?

Van Oosten is optimistic, and he believes that in the near future, this technique will be easily available for humans.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. New Bacterial language could help kill infections without antibiotics
  2. New, free app modifies antibiotics to work against drug-resistant infections
  3. A sunrise literally painted in life by glowing bacteria on an agar plate
  4. Chemists develop innovative way to spot fake whiskey — using glowing dyes
  5. New simple genetic test could distinguish between viral and bacterial infections
Tags: antibioticbacteriabacterial infectionfluorescent

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW