crafting a sustainable solution of drug resistant pathogen through agar
posted on december 20, 2024 by 英格兰vs美国谁会赢？
agar is commonly used in microbiology as a medium for growing bacteria and fungi. agar art is a form of artistic expression that involves creating intricate and colourful patterns and images by manipulating cultures on agar. rajal dave is a writer and an emerging phage researcher pursuing research at atmiya university, india. rajal has shared her agar art design and insights about how phage on agar is a sustainable solution to antimicrobial resistance (amr).
my intention with the use of agar art is to draw the attention of researchers and infectious disease doctors towards the application of traditional phage therapy in treating acute and chronic bacterial infections and, most importantly, to reduce the misuse and over use of antibiotics. my aspiration is to treat multidrug resistant bacterial infections with the provision of bacteriophage and its products.
i have illustrated bacteriophage attaching to a host cell surface through their receptors, with the help of pure colonies of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa), onto sheep blood agar. this sample was collected from healthcare worker’s fingertips after hand washing. the collected swab was transferred to a transport medium and immediately cultured into sheep blood agar at gurukrupa laboratory (iso 9001), india.
phage attaching to host cell surface
the concept of agar art
there are various kinds of mediums used to grow bacteria. bacteria utilises the nutrient from the agar medium and multiply themselves at 37°c for 18–24 hours of incubation. some microorganisms require more specific enriched environments to grow.
staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive bacteria that produces β-hemolysis (hemolysis of rbc) while growing in sheep blood agar. i have selected pure colonies of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus strain and sheep blood agar to illustrate this art.
it is important to wear gloves and a mask while working with agar art. my work area was cleaned with 70% alcohol to avoid contamination and maintain hygiene.
materials and equipment used
several institutes located in various countries, such as eliava institute of bacteriophage, microbiology and virology at the georgian academy of science, georgia, are serving customised phage as a centred activity.
many institutes are actively engaged in clinical trials of phage, acting bacteriophage as therapeutic agents where antibiotics fail to work. these include:
- the hirszfeld institute of immunology and experimental therapy (hiiet) at the polish academy of science, poland.
- viral research and diagnostics laboratory (vrdl), institute of medical science, banaras hindu university, india.
- society for bacteriophage research and therapy, dhr- icmr virus research and diagnostics laboratory network, india.
agar art links both art and science together. amr through agar art can be an innovative approach to highlight current global issues, contributions from scientists, ancient art of history associated with microbiology, innovation in research as well social ideas.
references
- salam ma, al-amin my, salam mt, pawar js, akhter n et al. antimicrobial resistance: a growing serious threat for global public health. healthcare 2023, 11, 1946. https://doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare11131946
- antimicrobial resistance collaborators. global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. the lancet; 399(10325): p629-655. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)02724-0
- antimicrobial resistance division. antibacterial agents in clinical and preclinical development: overview and analysis. geneva: world health organization. isbn978-92-4-004765 https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240047655