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Electrochemical monitoring of the metabolic activity of mycobacteria in culture

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek volume 102, pages 193–201 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Mycobacterial metabolic activity is typically measured using time-consuming manual methods based on nutrient consumption, nucleic acid synthesis or reduction of tetrazolium salts. In this study, we propose much simpler electrochemical methods for continuous monitoring of the metabolic activity of mycobacteria in culture. Chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry were used to detect metabolic activity of both slow-growing and fast-growing mycobacteria using a potentiostat with 2D-electrochemical cell. Electrochemical measurements were able to detect statistically significant differences in the metabolic activity of approximately 107 mycobacteria in different growth conditions, within less than 24 h of mycobacterial culture. The metabolic activity of mycobacteria measured by the used electrochemical methods correlated well with changes in general respiratory conditions within the cells as it was evaluated by different biochemical tests. Chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry allowed measurement of mycobacterial metabolic activity without invasive chemical reactions, at minimal bacterial load and when metabolic response of mycobacteria occurs quickly. The proposed methodology is simple, rapid and cost-effective, and it is expected that both in vitro and in vivo metabolic activity of human mycobacterial pathogens as Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be measured when the implementation of this method to analyze virulent strains is adapted.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the División de Investigación Bogotá (DIB)-Universidad Nacional de Colombia, grant 8003272.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Author notes

  1. Ana-S. Ramírez

    Present address: Institute for Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, Science Faculty, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Carrera 30, No 45-03, Ciudad Universitaria, Bogotá, Colombia

    Jimmy Rodríguez, Ana-S. Ramírez, Marco-Fidel Suárez & Carlos-Yesid Soto

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  1. Jimmy Rodríguez
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  2. Ana-S. Ramírez
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  3. Marco-Fidel Suárez
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  4. Carlos-Yesid Soto
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Correspondence to Carlos-Yesid Soto.

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Rodríguez, J., Ramírez, AS., Suárez, MF. et al. Electrochemical monitoring of the metabolic activity of mycobacteria in culture. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 102, 193–201 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-012-9727-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-012-9727-x

Keywords

  • Mycobacteria
  • Metabolic activity monitoring
  • Electrochemical detection
  • Chronoamperometry
  • Cronopotentiometry