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Updated: Nov 16, 2025
Nanomechanics of Drug-target Interactions and Antibacterial Resistance Detection
Published on: October 25, 2013
The Detection of Vancomycin in Sweat: A Next-Generation Digital Surrogate Marker for Antibiotic Tissue Penetration: A
Noé Brasier1, Andreas Widmer2, Michael Osthoff3,4
1CMIO Research Group, Department of Digitalization and ICT, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Background:
Assuring adequate antibiotic tissue concentrations at the point of infection, especially in skin and soft tissue infections, is pivotal for an effective treatment and cure. Despite the global issue, a reliable AB monitoring test is missing. Inadequate antibiotic treatment leads to the development of antimicrobial resistances and toxic side effects. β-lactam antibiotics were already detected in sweat of patients treated with the respective antibiotics intravenously before. With the emergence of smartphone-based biosensors to analyse sweat on the spot of need, next-generation molecular digital biomarkers will be increasingly available for a non-invasive pharmacotherapy monitoring.
Objective:
Here, we investigated if the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin is detectable in sweat samples of in-patients treated with intravenous vancomycin.
Methods:
Eccrine sweat samples were collected using the Macroduct Sweat Collector®. Along every sweat sample, a blood sample was taken. Bio-fluid analysis was performed by Ultra-high Pressure Liquid Chromatograph-Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry coupled with tandem mass spectrometry.
Results:
A total of 5 patients were included. Results demonstrate that vancomycin was detected in 5 out of 5 sweat samples. Specifically, vancomycin concentrations ranged from 0.011 to 0.118 mg/L in sweat and from 4.7 to 8.5 mg/L in blood.
Conclusion:
Our results serve as proof-of-concept that vancomycin is detectable in eccrine sweat and may serve as a surrogate marker for antibiotic tissue penetration. A targeted vancomycin treatment is crucial in patients with repetitive need for antibiotics and a variable antibiotic distribution such as in peripheral artery disease to optimize treatment effectiveness. If combined with on-skin smartphone-based biosensors and smartphone applications, the detection of antibiotic concentrations in sweat might enable a first digital, on-spot, lab-independent and non-invasive therapeutic drug monitoring in skin and soft tissue infections.
