유영근 (한림대학교)

박종민 (한림대학교)

유영근 (한림대학교)

박종민 (한림대학교)

Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria pose a serious threat to public health because they make diseases difficult to treat with antibiotics. However, traditional antibiotic susceptibility tests based on molecular diagnostics and biochemical diagnostics, including disk diffusion tests, are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a rapid antimicrobial resistance testing method.

MALDI-TOF MS is a technology that can detect unknown bacteria using a database of diverse mass peak patterns of various microorganisms, and is used for rapid bacterial identification. In this study, we developed a bacteriophage plate and created a method for rapid detection of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli using a MALDI-TOF MS-based microbial identification system. Phage plates were prepared using two bacteriophages targeting carbapenem-resistant E. coli on functionalized parylene-coated plates. The carbapenem-resistant E. coli could be detected using the phage plates by fluorescence spectroscopy. To evaluate the specificity of the phage plates, carbapenem-resistant E. coli, susceptible E. coli, and other bacterial species were analyzed using the phage plates and the microbial identification system. Finally, quantitative detection of carbapenem-resistant E. coli was performed to verify the feasibility of rapid detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria using a phage plate and MALDI-TOF MS-based microbial identification system.