Such antibiotics are used for killing extracellular bacteria during antibiotic protection assay for studying the intracellular survival of bacteria inside cells (macrophages etc). Gentamicin, vancomycin are examples such antibiotics but I need to know which other antibiotics can also be used instead?
Gentamicin is commonly used as mentioned by yourself and other contributors. Choice of antibiotic depends on the bacterium. Examples of other antibiotics that are commonly used in antibiotic protection assays are penicillin, metronizazole (anaerobes), and polymyxin B (gram negatives). Combinations of antibiotics are also used.
Lytic enzymes can also be used too for example lysozyme, mutanolysin(some gram positives especially streps), lysostaphin ( S. aureus) and combinations of these enzymes.
Good morning, Sir.
I' m not a medician so I can help not so much to Your question.
Anyway I'ld like to let ou focus on some recente news
that I found on published articles:
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about New views inside a fuel-cell membrane (NAFION)
and the second is about
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relating to previous studies, in which biochemist Dmitri Lapotko and colleagues found that these nanobubbles kill cancer cells by literally exploding them without damaging healthy neighboring cells, a process that showed much higher precision and selectivity compared with processes mediated by gold nanoparticles alone.
Hopeing to be someway useful. I wish You a good deepening about.
The most used one for this purpose is Gentamicin. The concentration to be used depend on your bacterial strain, but normally a final concentration of 40 um/ml should be OK...goog luck..
Muhammad, I see you are at the University of Edinburgh. There is an expert in antibiotics and resistance there, Prof Sebastian Amyes. I'm sure he could help. I did my PhD with him and he is very approachable. Good luck.
Be careful, antibiotics that are "known" not to enter into the cell, still have some activity, surprinsingly.
Can you imagine that co-amoxiclav has some activity on TB?!?!
Dear Muhamad,
Your question is strictly related with the physico-chemical properties of the Antimicrobials (ATM). I always reccommend don´t be strict with the concept " ATM cell-penetration" , if "yes" or "no". The point is that when more hidrosoluble is the ATM (correlated with low distribution volume) more time it needs to penetrate the cell, by which de ATM´ cell- accumulation will be naturally "low". In this context I can suggest ATM like penicllin V or G and derived (Cloxa, Meticillin etc), Phosphomycin, Gentamycin (and old aminoglicosydes like strepto), and some cephalosporins of 1st generation , Vancomycin, linezolid, among others. All ATM mentioned before are indicated for the treatment of extraceullar bacteria. I´m attaching a review which perhaps can help you.
Best regards,
SSB
Aminoglicoside antibiotics as gentamicin has been strongly used in invasion assays however it have been shown that gentamicin can enter in macro phages, even at low concentrations and kill intracellular bacteria. I recommend wash the cells strongly after infection with PBS and then use gentamicin at low concentration (5 micro g/ml) or keep the exposure of gentamicin as brief as possible.
Another antibiotic used is fosfomycin.
Also there are some reports showing the use of the extracellular bactericidal agent bacteriophage λ
Gentamicin is commonly used as mentioned by yourself and other contributors. Choice of antibiotic depends on the bacterium. Examples of other antibiotics that are commonly used in antibiotic protection assays are penicillin, metronizazole (anaerobes), and polymyxin B (gram negatives). Combinations of antibiotics are also used.
Lytic enzymes can also be used too for example lysozyme, mutanolysin(some gram positives especially streps), lysostaphin ( S. aureus) and combinations of these enzymes.
Hello, I use the Gentamicin protection assay for my work. This antibiotic does cross the macrophage membrane over time and resides in the cytosol - and is troubling if your intracellular bacteria fuses with vesicles and/or escapes a vacuole and resides in the cytosol. I also would like to know of some antibiotics that could be used to kill extracellular bacteria with little permeability into the macrophage cell.
Or, maybe a suggestion on an alternative method to maintain an antibiotic in the protection assay, that doesn't involve spiking with antibiotic to kill the extracellular bacteria prior to harvesting or fixing coverslips.
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