Dear All:
I recently became aware of a technology for real-time continuous in vivo monitoring of drug levels that I thought worth sharing with the broader community. Although we’ve for many years had continuous measures of analytes such as glucose or oxygen where simple chemistry gave a suitable measurement tool, measurement of arbitrary analytes has not previously been something that could be readily achieved.
As described in a new PNAS paper by Arroyo-Currás et al., there is now a technology that addresses this challenge. The idea starts with noting that aptamers (oligonucleotides with high affinity for specific molecules) undergo a conformational change when they bind their target. This change can be detected electrochemically if the aptamer is bound to a suitable electrode. In addition, Jennifer Hoover (GSK) and Kevin Plaxco (originator of the technology) have written a white paper that you can review for additional details.
While we’ve managed to work for many years with blood level monitoring using the sample-and-test strategy, the idea of being able to get instant levels is fascinating and might simplify some aspects of drug R&D. Many thanks for Jenn & Kevin for bringing this to my attention. Kevin would be happy to be contacted at kwp@chem.ucsb.edu if you’d like to explore ways to collaborate with him.
All best wishes, –jr
John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Chief Strategy Officer, CARB-X | Expert-in-Residence, Wellcome Trust. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://13.43.35.2/blog.html
Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community:
- 5-8 Sep 2017: ASM-ESCMID conference on antibiotic R&D, including the CARB-X + GARDP Antibiotic Bootcamp
- 13 Sep 2017 (DC): FDA-CDRH workshop on diagnostic devices for detecting antimicrobial susceptibility & resistance
- 4-8 Oct 2017 (San Diego): IDWeek
- 29 Oct-1 Nov 2017 (Santa Fe): Keystone Symposium – Antimicrobials and Resistance: Opportunities and Challenges
- 24-27 Nov 2017 (Taipei): 30th International Congress of Chemotherapy & Infection (ICC)
- 12-14 Feb 2018 (Baltimore): ASM Biothreats Conference
- 11-16 Mar 2018 (Ventura Beach): Gordon Research Conference on Antibacterial Discovery
- 21-24 Apr 2018 (Madrid): ECCMID
- 7-11 Jun 2018 (Atlanta): ASM Microbe
- 22-27 Jul 2018 (Bryant University, Smithfield, RI): Gordon Research Conference on Drug Resistance for Cancer, Infectious Disease and Agriculture