ABSTRACT
Carbapenemases are commonly expressed from mobile genetic elements such as plasmids or transposons, which can be acquired and passed on through horizontal gene transfer, making CP-CREs extremely virulent and highly resistant to any therapy. CP-CRE detection was performed using a sandwich hybridization assay. Nucleic acid targets were captured using a magnetic microparticle containing oligonucleotides with guanine detection tags and capture probes complementary to a segment of the target. Electrochemical detection is an appealing technique because of its rapid, simple, and inexpensive applications in measuring redox chemicals such as glucose. Electrochemical biosensors for detecting redox nucleotides such as guanine have not attained widespread appeal because of their inability to achieve low detection limits necessary for clinical applications. Meropenem incubation was found to have no impact on carbapenemase production and could be removed from the protocol. Sensor electrodes and magnetic microparticle conjugates can be customized for new targets by conjugating the required probes.
