Quantitative Lateral Flow Assay for Meropenem Determination: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is crucial for effective antibiotic treatment, especially in critically ill patients.
• Conventional methods like LC/MS for antibiotic quantification are time-consuming, hindering timely dose adjustments.
• Rapid and accurate TDM is needed to optimize patient outcomes and reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt a novel competitive lateral flow assay (LFA) for the rapid quantification of Meropenem.
• To evaluate the performance of the LFA using a beta-lactam receptor protein and a custom image analysis algorithm.
• To assess the potential of this LFA platform for point-of-care antibiotic monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Development of a competitive lateral flow assay (LFA) using BlaR-CTD protein and biotinylated BSA-Meropenem-conjugated gold nanoparticles.
• Adaptation of a dual test line LFA format previously validated for vancomycin.
• Quantification of Meropenem concentrations using a custom image analysis algorithm to measure test line intensities.

Main Results:

• The developed LFA demonstrated a concentration-dependent change in test line intensities for Meropenem.
• A strong correlation (R^2 = 0.9537) was observed between LFA results and Meropenem concentrations.
• The assay shows promise for rapid, point-of-care antibiotic quantification.

Conclusions:

• The novel LFA platform offers a potential solution for rapid Meropenem monitoring, overcoming limitations of conventional methods.
• This technology has the potential for broad application in diverse healthcare settings for point-of-care testing.
• Further optimization is required for improved accuracy at low Meropenem concentrations, but the proof-of-concept is strong for other beta-lactams.