Monitoring of Bacterial Growth and Rapid Evaluation of Antibiotic Susceptibility by Headspace Gas Analysis

Testing of antibiotic resistance by conventional microbiological techniques can be very time-consuming. Measuring the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the headspace of bacterial culture using mass spectrometry or other gas sensing principles might provide a novel approach in detection of antibiotic susceptibility. In the present study VOCs produced by different strains of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were monitored by Ion-molecule Reaction-Mass Spectrometry (IMR-MS). Methanethiol was identified as a marker for bacterial growth. Subsequently, various metal-oxide gas sensors were screened for sensitivity to methanethiol in order to select appropriate cost-efficient sensors for future application in clinical routine.