University of Idaho researchers are working to develop more effective defenses against staphylococcus aureus bacteria and other deadly pathogens.


One of the goals of that effort, the university says, is to create faster and more accurate identification of infection strains resistant to the antibiotic methicillin. MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, is an acronym being used to refer to such so-called superbug strains.


Breakthrough detection technologies are already in hand at U of I labs, the university says. Nano-electronic biosensors at the universitys Center for Advanced Microelectronics and Biomolecular Research (CAMBR), located in the University of Idaho Research Park, in Post Falls, recently have cut detection time for staph from the industry standard of up to three days down to three hours, researchers claim.


They now are focused on tweaking the device so it can provide a complete toxin profile of staph that will reveal the virulence of infections quickly. To accomplish that goal, researchers from the universitys Center of Biomedical Research Excellence are working with CAMBR scientists. Its hoped that eventually even the hard-to-identify MRSA bacteria will be detected quickly using some form of the nanotechnology.


There is an immediate need for faster, more accurate staph detection, says Wusi Maki, principal investigator for CAMBR biomolecular research. Quick identification in hospitals could save many lives, and millions of dollars.


MRSAs resistance to antibiotics has earned it the superbug tag. It is responsible for more than 94,000 infections and 16,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone, according to recent Centers for Disease Control reports. Those numbers indicate it is a greater health threat to Americans than the AIDS virus.


The spiking MRSA death toll reported by the Centers for Disease Control provides considerable motivation to move infectious disease research ahead, and to get life-saving nanotechnologies into the marketplace, the U of I says, adding that its scientists are focused on both goals.


The vast majority of hospitals, including all regional facilities in Spokane and Coeur dAlene, still culture staph in petri dishes, the university says. The culture usually takes one to two days to mature until it is identifiable. CAMBR biosensors identify staph within three hours, while also increasing accuracy, the U of I claims.


Our electronic-detection capability is approximately 1,000 times more sensitive than the chemilumine technologies currently being used in clinical laboratories, Maki asserts.


Our plan is to work with Professor Greg Bohach and use the nanosensor CAMBR has developed to provide a toxin profile that will tell us very quickly, and very accurately, if we are looking at lethal or just mild staph, Maki says.


Bohach is principal investigator and director of the Center of Biological Research Excellence in the universitys department of microbiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry. He notes that there currently is no method available to quickly and accurately judge the virulence of staph bacteria.


Finding effective capture molecules, those that adhere specifically to staph and its toxins, is key to creating a biosensor-generated toxin profile and insights into the virulence of specific staph infections, the university says.


U of I graduate student Ryan Dobler has been working with Bohach and scientists at CAMBR labs to identify and replicate capture molecules. He has been searching through a vast molecular library looking for an aptamer molecule, which is a piece of RNA that binds to a target, Dobler says. RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, a molecule similar to DNA that is present in the cells of all living beings.


His work has confirmed that the large pool of RNA fragments he studied are binding, and specifically, that they attach to fibronectin binding protein.


Fibronectin binding protein is a unique protein thats found on the surface of staph bacteria, Dobler says. It helps bind the staph to human tissue.


The research hasnt yet yielded an aptamer that would most effectively and most specifically recognize staph. In his year-long investigation, Dobler tested about 80 samples among the thousands that may yield results. He is writing up his research, and will present his findings in his masters thesis this month. Bohach, Maki, and their teams hope to find funding to continue the study.


Bohach and others members of his team also are looking at the mechanisms staph bacteria employ to enter host cells and proliferate. Using nano-wires and other nano materials, they hope to hijack the methods bacteria use for toxin delivery, and use them to deliver drug therapies specifically to infected cells.


Bohach is working with U of I professor of physics and materials engineer David McIlroy, microbiologist Carolyn Hovde, and others to develop those materials for use as innovative drug-delivery systems. McIlroy leads a team of seven researchers supported by the universitys Blue Ribbon Strategic Initiative funding. Their goal is to integrate nano-materials research with cell biology and bioscience research.


The researchers have found that such microscopic materials penetrate tumors easily, and can do so coated with antibodies or other materials that destroy infected cells, while sparing normal cells.