CRISPR for detection of drug resistance genes

Resistance to antibiotics, anticancer, antiviral, and antiparasitic drugs has become one of the greatest threats to modern medicine, seriously straining global health systems. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the integrity of the health system by reducing the effectiveness of treatment protocols such as chemotherapy, organ transplantation, and major surgical interventions. In this case, not only the development of new drugs but also the rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of resistant microorganisms and genetic markers is of vital importance. Therefore, the need for more innovative diagnostic approaches suitable for field applications is increasing. CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-based molecular diagnostic systems developed in recent years stand out as strong candidates that can fill the gap in this area. Thanks to their ability to recognize and target specific DNA or RNA sequences with high specificity, CRISPR systems enable rapid and sensitive detection of drug resistance genes. Various CRISPR effector proteins, such as Cas9, Cas12, and Cas13, have the potential to revolutionize diagnostic technologies due to their ability to both target-specifically cut and generate signals. This review will focus on the application of CRISPR technology for detecting drug resistance genes. In addition, the sensitivity, specificity, application areas, and technical challenges of the systems will be discussed through literature examples of current applications. The review aims to synthesize scientific developments in this field by examining how CRISPR-based diagnostic approaches can play a role in the global fight against drug resistance and to provide a guiding resource for future research.