Research Projects

Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) strains cause significant nosocomial infections globally, leading to significant mortality rates. Carbapenems are the last-resort treatment for MDR A. baumannii, but the emergence of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) has led to the WHO listing it as a priority pathogen for research and development. CRAB resistance is primarily mediated by OXA-type carbapenemases, with OXA-23 being a prevalent resistance determinant. To counter CRAB, strategies should include developing newer antibiotics and reliable, rapid, and easy-to-use diagnostic reagents for timely patient treatment, improved clinical outcomes, and effective infection management. Currently, CRAB detection is performed using antibiotic susceptibility testing, biochemical tests, MALDI-TOF MS-based detection platforms, and nucleic acid-based methods. However, these methods require expensive equipment and trained manpower, making them unsuitable for resource-limited settings. The proposed project aims to address this gap by developing mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to OXA-23 using phage display. This will enable rapid profiling of carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii. Purified OXA-23 protein will be immunized in mice, and a phage-displayed immunized antibody library will be constructed. Selected antibodies will be converted into scFv-Fc format and re-evaluated using indirect and sandwich ELISA to identify antibody combinations suitable for carbapenem resistance profiling in A. baumannii with high specificity and sensitivity. OXA-23-specific MAbs will become available, useful for developing simple point-of-care diagnostic tests and basic research addressing CRAB.