New Method to Quickly and Accurately Detect Harmful Bacteria or Pathogens

Orange County, CA - June 12th, 2018 -   The most frequent way to detect if a patient has an infection is to take a testing strip that changes color when infected fluids come into contact with it. Another method is to examine the body’s fluid samples under lso known as leukocytes, which is an indicator of an infection. However, the process is very slow and would require a microscope, and then count the white blood cells.  Doing this is amore highly trained personnel.

“The problem with this method is that it’s imprecise. The human eye is forced to judge the level of infection based on the hue and deepness of a color. It’s difficult to make an accurate call based on that”, said Waldemar Gorski, the professor, and chair of the UTSA Department of Chemistry. Additionally, about a third of samples can’t be tested, because the fluids are too opaque, or they contain blood.

Professor Gorski wanted to make an easier and quicker way to test for infection. He took an electrochemical approach and teamed up with Stanton McHardy, a medicinal chemist, and the associate professor of research in chemistry and director of the UTSA Center for Innovative Drug Discovery.  They created molecules that bind to leukocyte enzymes and produce an electrical current to signal the presence of the infection.

“The signs and symptoms people demonstrate aren’t always reflective of the level of the infection they have. This method could very easily show just how serious an infection is and make diagnosis a much quicker process, possibly preventing a more serious illness “said Stanton McHardy.