NEW PUBLICATION: calScreener shows efficacy of antibiotic treatments against group A streptococci in a complex mammalian cell model

– Metabolic readouts highlighted which treatment parameters were most effective.

(STOCKHOLM) Symcel— a company providing real-time metabolic measurements for cell culture with their product the calScreener™  ̶  was recently involved in a publication investigating how microcalorimetry can be used to monitor antibiotic performance in a complex mammalian cell model.

The research team led by Professor Anna Norrby-Teglund from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm were investigating how to treat biofilms which can complicate necrotizing soft tissue infections. Standard treatments with benzylpenicillin and clindamycin can often fail and the team wanted to understand if treatments could be improved by adding in the antibiotic rifampicin as an adjunct.

The team tested different combinations of the three antibiotics, benzylpenicillin, clindamycin and rifampicin against group A streptococcal strains grown in a tissue culture model. They discovered the most effective treatment used all three compounds indicating that rifampicin is a good adjunct for the treatment of these kinds of infections. This finding has direct clinical relevance.

The research team used traditional colony counts and microcalorimetry in combination which ultimately led to the same conclusion and strengthened the findings. However, the microcalorimetry results attained using the calScreener gave a continuous, real-time readout of two different metabolic parameters which gave a more detailed insight into the susceptibility profile. The speed at which results could be obtained with the calScreener demonstrate how it could be used for diagnostic purposes.

Read the publication here: https://doi.org/10.1128/AAC.00658-21

ENDS

For more information, please contact Dr. Jesper Ericsson (Jesper.Ericsson@Symcel.com)

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About Symcel

Symcel is leading a new era in metabolic measurements for use in rapid diagnostics and improved therapies. They provide a novel cell-based assay tool for real-time cellular metabolism measurements. Their solution is a fast, label-free phenotypic screening technology for direct measurements on cell behaviour and drug responses. Symcel was founded in 2004 by Dr. Dan Hallén and Prof. Ingemar Wadsö, leading authorities in bioactivity measurements. The current team at Symcel has extensive experience within the biotechnology industry and diagnostics.