Development of the sensor platform for the assessment of Multidrug resistance

Work done in the lab of Prof. Vincent. M. Rotello at University of Massachusetts, Amherst

About author

Sohini Basu Roy obtained her PhD from Jadavpur University in chemistry. Her research work was in the development of chemical sensors. After that, she moved to the University of Massachusetts, Chemistry as a postdoctoral research scientist in Vincent Rotello’s group. There she was involved in synthesizing polymer based fluorescent sensors which could detect different stages of bacterial infection and at the same time profile antibiotic mechanisms. She joined her second postdoc at the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research under a DBT-RA fellowship. She also has a great passion for science communication for which she moved toward the publication industry’s “Journal of Visualized Experiments’’.

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Sohini Basu Roy

Interview

How would you explain your research outcomes to the non-scientific community?

In this article we have addressed one of the most pressing issues in the clinical world. In developing countries, people have a habit of taking antibiotics when they have the flu or a normal fever. Doctors may sometimes play it safe, especially with elderly people, by administering them antibiotics. This, however, has led to multidrug resistance (MDR). It refers to a resistance shown by the species of microorganism (mainly bacteria) to a specific antibiotic.

For some time multidrug-resistance has been one of the most serious threats to the human community. This has caused a crisis not only among infected people, but also among immunocompromised groups such as cancer patients and patients undergoing organ transplantation. Furthermore, even if the correct drug is found for an infected patient, most of the time the doctor fails to understand the stages of the infection, resulting in improper dosage of antibiotics, ultimately patient death. Understanding the stages of infection is critical for the correct antibiotics dosage. So, in the emerging era of precision medicine, a method that simultaneously profiles antibiotic mechanisms and monitors resistance would facilitate in targeting the appropriate antibiotic to specific bacteria.

Hypothesis–free sensing, an alternative to screening assays is used for the identification of complex bioanalytes. This approach has been used in the successful discrimination of different phenotypic surface changes on cell surface which includes bacterial biofilm. We have developed a multi-channel polymer based sensor capable of discriminating antibiotic mechanisms and tracking the development of antibiotic resistance. The high-throughput screening of antibiotic mechanisms, as well as a precise profiling of the antibiotic sensitivity of distinct bacteria strains, highlights the potential of our sensor platform for antibiotic research and development.

How do these findings contribute to your research area?

Multidrug Resistance (MDR) is one of the emerging fields in the scientific world. Our work in creating a novel multichannel sensor based platform to identify different MDR based mechanisms and track the development of antibiotic resistance expects to highlight the potential for antibiotic research and development.

What was the exciting moment during your research?

Well, it took some years to get published, but it was worth it. First, there were a lot of obstacles faced while synthesizing the polymers. After overcoming that, standardization of the polymers with the bacterial surface was a challenge for us. Finally, after that we got a positive result, the majority of time was taken in writing and submitting the paper. The most exciting part is receiving very few comments from the reviewer and having the manuscript accepted soon after. I think all scientists have gone through this time.

“Our work in creating a novel multichannel sensor based platform to identify different MDR based mechanisms and track the development of antibiotic resistance expects to highlight the potential for antibiotic research and development.”

What do you hope to do next?

Well, I have already done some research during my Ph.D. and Postdoctoral Research. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. Because of my strong interest in science communication and making it available to a wide range of audience, I have joined the publication house “Journal of Visualized Experiments”.

Where do you seek scientific inspiration from?

It is not a single scientist that I am inspired by. It’s everyday natural things which we encounter and feel. Why is that so? This “Why” word is the main thing that inspires all the scientists to come into this field. Every natural calamity, every question about diseases and why they are happening, is the main contribution for me to come in scientific research.

How do you intend to help Indian science improve?

Throughout the ages, Indian science has proved its place through remarkable discoveries and findings by eminent scientists. But I felt there has always been a gap between science and people who are coming in the field of science and making research advancements. Science communication can play an important part in making it accessible to non-scientific people and encouraging them to choose this field of scientific research. I look upon this scientific communication as the noblest way of reaching the non-specialist audience and making science the primary working field.

Reference

Sohini Basu Roy, Ahmed Nabawy, Aritra Nath Chattopadhyay, Yingying Geng, Jessa Marie Makabenta, Akash Gupta, and Vincent M. Rotello. A Polymer-Based Multichannel Sensor for Rapid Cell-Based Screening of Antibiotic Mechanisms and Resistance Development.ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022, 14, 23, 27515–27522. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.2c07012

Edited by: Sukanya Madhwal

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