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Jeff Leid, Left, and tim vaiL at wor K in nau’s center for microbiaL Genetics and Genomics.
photo by Jason bu LLard
acteria, like those that cause
staph infections, can’t hide
from researchers at Northern
Arizona University, who
recently helped develop the
first diagnostic tool to detect them.
A patent is pending for the new Lateral
Flow Assay device to detect the microorganisms bound together in a protective walls,
known as biofilms. They attach to inanimate
substances, such as rocks in streams or catheters in humans, or to living tissue such as
human heart valves and bone.
Certain bacteria produce biofilms, which
act as a defense against drugs and the
immune system, making it difficult to treat
an infection.
“Biofilms are an important problem with
implanted medical devices as well as in
the establishment of chronic infections,”
says Jeff Leid, an associate professor in the
Department of Biological Sciences and
associate director for NAU’s Center for
Microbial Genetics and Genomics. “They
are notoriously less susceptible to antibiotics
than their single-cell, non-community-orientated bacteria and are less susceptible
to attack and killing from the human
immune system.”
Biofilms cause more than 70 percent
of community and hospital-acquired
infections, such as staph and strep,
according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
The cost associated with treating these
infections in the United States is about
$5 billion a year.
“Because of this, patients often suffer
chronic and recurring infections,”
Leid says. “Without a specific way for
physicians and health-care workers
to diagnose these infections, patient
treatment may be delayed.”
Developed by a team of faculty and
students from NAU and the University of
Maryland, the Lateral Flow Assay works
somewhat like the test used to diagnose
strep throat. The device identifies the
presence of biofilm-specific antibodies in
patients by allowing the antibodies to bind
to biofilm-specific proteins on the device.
“If physicians and other health-care workers
can diagnose these infections early, there
will be a much greater chance for clinical
