Development of Biosensor Assays for Continuous Monitoring of Antibiotics Levels to Optimize Treatment

The currently widely used fixed-antibiotic-dosing strategies to treat infections, whereby patients receive a standardized quantity of antibiotics, have been identified as a barrier to optimal antibiotic prescribing, and a potential cause for the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This blanket approach to antibiotic prescribing is unlikely to represent the most effective and efficient use of a precious resource. Individual patients metabolise antibiotics at significantly different rates and hence end up with very different levels of the active substance in their blood and tissues. As a result of the fixed-antibiotic-dosing, many patients will receive far more antibiotic than they need to be cured, while at the same time many will be under-dosed, delaying treatment response and driving AMR. Nevertheless, this approach has become established clinical practice for most antibiotics, partly due to the lack of access to rapid, reliable measurements of antibiotics levels in patient samples at the bedside.
In this project, you will develop an electrochemical biosensor to measure antibiotic levels in small volumes of samples. You will fabricate biosensor devices, will develop molecular detection systems, and optimize electrochemical detection approaches. You will also design and build microfluidic sample handling devices. Finally, you will undertake analytical validation of the prototype point-of-care biosensor device. Your PhD project will be split between the Faculties of Engineering and Biological Sciences, where the biosensor hardware and antibiotics assays will be developed, and Faculty of Medicine and Health where the biosensor will be validated in a clinical context.

For all details and additional information on this Training Programme, please see the Medical Research Foundation National Training Programme in AMR research website: http://www.bris.ac.uk/cellmolmed/study/postgraduate/amr/