2010 R&D 100 Winner
Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections have a fatality risk of 30% to 40%; a narrow window of time is available to administer antibiotic therapy. The MicroPhage MRSA/MSSA Blood Culture Test from MicroPhage, Inc., Longmont, Colo., is the first in vitro diagnostic for direct identification of S. aureus and determination of methicillin resistance and susceptibility from blood cultures.
The device’s technology uses bacteriophage amplification to produce a specific and highly antigenic marker to identify the presence of viable bacteria and their response to antibiotics. Bacteriophage selectively infect targeted bacteria and rapidly multiply. The system can generate as much as a 5-log amplification of signal. The reduced incubation times result in complete assay times of one to four hours compared with traditional culture assays of 24 to 48 hours. Testing is completed in five hours or less, two or more days faster than standard testing.
The test is based on core technology and research conducted at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colo.Components include ID (identification) and RS (antibiotic resistance/susceptibility testing) reaction tubes and media, transfer pipettes, and detector.
Testing does not require sophisticated equipment or technical expertise. A clinical sample thought to contain the suspect bacteria is mixed with proprietary reagents, incubated, allowing the phage—if present—to amplify and be detected.
Technology
In vitro diagnostic test for MRSA/MSSA
Developers
MicroPhage, Inc.
Colorado School of Mines
Development Team
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Froint row (l-r): B. Dreiling, M. Izzo, B. Lopez, A. Frateschi, R. Gallegos, D. Manna
Middle row: D. Smith, G. Svanas, M. Dowling, A. Lindberg
Top row: P. Sportmann, D. Bush, K. Reed, P. Brown |
The MicroPhage MRSA/MSSA Blood Culture Test Development Team:
Preston Brown, MicroPhage, Inc.
Duane Bush, MicroPhage, Inc.
Scott Conlin, MicroPhage, Inc.
Christopher Cox, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Breanna Dreiling, MicroPhage, Inc.
Scott Gaisford, MicroPhage, Inc.
Larry Gold, MicroPhage, Inc.
Maria Izzo, MicroPhage, Inc.
Leah Luna, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Angelo Madonna, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Lori Majors, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Dipankar Manna, MicroPhage, Inc.
Stephanie Matyi, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Jon Rees, MicroPhage, Inc.
Breanna Smith, MicroPhage, Inc.
J. Drew Smith, MicroPhage, Inc.
Bernard Sportmann ,MicroPhage, Inc.
Tiffany Steinmark, MicroPhage, Inc.
Sheila Van Cuyk, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
Kent J. Voorhees, Colorado School of Mines, Department of Chemistry
John Wheeler, MicroPhage, Inc.
Michele Zediker, MicroPhage, Inc.
