A Review of Raman-Based Technologies for Bacterial Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global medical threat that seriously endangers human health. Rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) are key interventions to combat the spread and emergence of AMR. Although current clinical bacterial identification and AST provide comprehensive information, they are labor-intensive, complex, inaccurate, and slow (requiring several days, depending on the growth of pathogenic bacteria). Recently, Raman-based identification and AST technologies have played an increasingly important role in fighting AMR. This review summarizes major Raman-based techniques for bacterial identification and AST, including spontaneous Raman scattering, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and coherent Raman scattering (CRS) imaging. Then, we discuss recent developments in rapid identification and AST methods based on Raman technology. Finally, we highlight the major challenges and potential future efforts to improve clinical outcomes through rapid bacterial identification and AST.

Recent advances of Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of bacteria

“…SERS has been successfully applied to analyze the different responses of antibiotic resistant and sensitive bacteria during exposure to antibiotics to assess the antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria. 80 It has been applied to differentiate the antibiotic-resistant and susceptible E. coli strains, [81][82][83] S. Typhimurium, 84 B. cereus, 82,85 S. aureus, 86 and carbapenem sensitive and resistant Klebsiella strains from clinical samples. 87 In addition to the instant one-time treatment of antibiotics, the antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted over a long period such as three months, or 21 days in some studies, to investigate the dynamic molecular changes in the drug-resistant strains.…”

Culture-independent susceptibility determination of E. coli isolated directly from patients’ urine using FTIR and machine-learning

“…The global increase of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major and serious public health concern that threatens human health. [1][2][3][4] AMR is associated with high mortality rates and high medical costs and has become a serious social and economic burden. 5 At least 700 000 infected people die each year globally due to AMR infections.…”

“…7 The uncontrolled overuse of antibiotics is the main cause of AMR. 1,8 The main problem with current antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) methods is the time required to obtain the results. In most cases, it takes at least 48 hours to obtain the susceptibility testing results.…”

“…11 Different Raman-based technologies are used for rapid bacterial identification and AST. 1,[12][13][14][15][16][17] IR spectroscopy and microscopy 7,18 have been used to distinguish the molecular alterations linked to the emergence of MDR. [19][20][21] Our group was one of the pioneers in using FTIR spectroscopy to determine bacterial susceptibility from bacterial colonies after first culture, reducing the time taken to obtain the susceptibility results from 48 hours to 24 hours compared to the classical methods.…”

Using an ATR-FTIR Technique to Detect Pathogens in Patients with Urinary Tract Infections: A Pilot Study

“…There is hence a necessity to develop a more rapid and directly pathogen-oriented method to detect UTIs and pathogens. Several methods being considered at present are Raman spectroscopy, oligonucleotide-based molecular beacons, MALDI-TOF, plasmonics, electronic nose, flow cytometry, and nucleic acid-based diagnostics, which represent attractive molecular diagnostic modalities for a clinic [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. The advantages of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy compared to other methods are the high signal-to-noise ratio, reduced dispersion, good spatial resolution, nondestructiveness, lack of sample preparation (or minimal preparation), low relative cost, and automated analysis [ 25 , 26 ].…”