This recent study by Zlitni, A. et al tested a Maltotriose-based probes for fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging of bacterial infections.
Article Summary:
- No non-invasive tools exist to accurately diagnose wound and surgical site infections before they become systemic or cause significant anatomical damage.
- Fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging can be used to noninvasively diagnose bacterial infections when paired with a molecularly targeted infection imaging agent.
- Developed a fluorescent derivative of maltotriose (Cy7-1-maltotriose), which is shown to be taken up in a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains in vitro.
- In vivo studies show the ability of this probe to detect infection, assess infection burden, and visualize the effectiveness of antibiotic treatment in E. coli-induced myositis and a clinically relevant S. aureus wound infection murine model.
- Maltotriose is an ideal scaffold for infection imaging agents encompassing better pharmacokinetic properties and in vivo stability than other maltodextrins (e.g. maltohexose).
Conclusion:
The authors believe that their Maltotriose-based probes is ideal for detecting surgical site infection before they become systemic.
- Zlitni, A. et al. Maltotriose-based probes for fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging of bacterial infections. Cardiovasc. Nat. Comm. (2020).