Detecting Antibiotic-Resistant K. pneumoniae using Gold Nanoparticles Decorated with Thiolated Oligos

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-756-9_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Antibiotic resistance; Klebsiella pneumoniae; gold nanoparticles

Abstract

The prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae remains a significant threat to the treatment and control of infections. The development of rapid methods that provide information on the antibiotic susceptibility of K. pneumoniae may play a crucial role in mitigating drug resistance. In this study, we have developed a gold nanoparticle-based method for detecting fluoroquinolone-resistance in K. pneumoniae, which is associated with a single-nucleotide mutation in the gyrA gene. The gold nanoparticles functionalized with thiol-modified oligonucleotides were synthesized and used for hybridization. In the presence of DNA from a fluoroquinolone-sensitive strain, the thiol-modified Au nanoprobes showed hybridization, and the complex retained its pink colour upon addition of salt. In case of DNA from resistant strains the complexes were destabilized upon addition of salt resulting in formation of purple color. The assay achieved a limit of detection of 100 ng/μL for the unamplified genome. With genomic DNA isolated from clinical samples, the assay demonstrated sensitivity and specificity of 83% and 100%, respectively, with no cross-reactivity with other bacterial species. The developed gold nanoprobe-based plasmonic biosensor offers a rapid tool for detecting fluoroquinolone-resistant K. pneumoniae in clinical specimens. With a method that is simple to follow and a visual endpoint, it shortens the turnaround time while maintaining the sensitivity of a molecular assay.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Snehal Kulkarni
AU  - Jyutika Rajwade
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/31
TI  - Detecting Antibiotic-Resistant K. pneumoniae using Gold Nanoparticles Decorated with Thiolated Oligos
BT  - Proceedings of the Conference on Bioengineering for Global Health (SYMRESEARCH 2.0 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 91
EP  - 103
SN  - 2468-5747
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-756-9_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-756-9_8
ID  - Kulkarni2026
ER  -