Application of Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) to Identify Antimicrobial Resistance in Uropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (UPEC) Isolates via Deuterium Isotope Probing.



Shams, Sahand ORCID: 0000-0003-0304-6453, Chowdhury, Sara Sadia ORCID: 0000-0001-7587-1669, Doherty, Joel, Ahmed, Shwan ORCID: 0000-0003-1289-442X, Trivedi, Dakshat, Xu, Yun ORCID: 0000-0003-3228-5111, Sarsby, Joscelyn, Eyers, Claire E ORCID: 0000-0002-3223-5926, Burke, Adam ORCID: 0000-0002-3201-2116, Goodacre, Royston ORCID: 0000-0002-6286-8775
et al (show 1 more authors) (2025) Application of Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) to Identify Antimicrobial Resistance in Uropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (UPEC) Isolates via Deuterium Isotope Probing. Analytical chemistry, 97 (34). pp. 18444-18452. ISSN 0003-2700, 1520-6882

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Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to pose a significant threat to global health, undermining advances in modern medicine and increasing mortality from previously treatable infections. Rapid and accurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is critical, both for effective judicious treatment and controlling the spread of AMR. For the first time, we demonstrate the application of rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS), combined with deuterium isotope probing (DIP), as a novel approach for identifying AMR in uropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (UPEC) isolates within only a 1 h incubation period. By directly analyzing bacterial samples without extensive preparation, REIMS serves as a rapid fingerprinting tool, employing DIP and multivariate statistical analysis to provide AST profiling of UPEC isolates. Distinct clustering patterns were observed between trimethoprim-susceptible and trimethoprim-resistant UPEC isolates grown in media containing 10% deuterium oxide (D<sub>2</sub>O). TMP-susceptible isolates treated with trimethoprim displayed no significant deuterium incorporation, serving as an indicator of a lower metabolic activity resulting from antimicrobial action. We also demonstrated the ability to differentiate the origin of heavy water, confirming that deuterium incorporation was a biological process rather than of extracellular origin resulting from chemical processes. Several mass spectral bins showed patterns consistent with deuterated phospholipid species, including those in the expected mass range for phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG), which are the most abundant phospholipids in <i>E. coli</i>. However, these annotations remain tentative, as no structural confirmation (e.g., MS/MS) was performed. These findings suggest that REIMS, combined with DIP and multivariate statistical analysis, serves as an efficient fast workflow for the rapid detection of AMR.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Deuterium, Trimethoprim, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Microbial Sensitivity Tests, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Mass Spectrometry, Uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Tech, Infrastructure and Environmental Directorate
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 03 Sep 2025 10:43
Last Modified: 24 Sep 2025 04:52
DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5c00667
Related Websites:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3194258