LAESI® technology used in antibacterial research

Achieves 3D molecular imaging of live bacterial colonies


MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Oct. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Protea Biosciences Group, Inc. (OTCQB:PRGB) (“Protea”) announced today the use of the Company’s proprietary LAESI technology to provide rapid profiling of a bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics.

The results were recently published in the International Edition of the Journal Angewandte Chemie, by Dr. H. Li, and Prof. Akos Vertes, Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University. The publication’s title is “Molecular Imaging of Growth, Metabolism, and Antibiotic Inhibition in Bacterial Colonies by Laser Ablation Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LAESI).”

“We are pleased to see the unique capabilities of LAESI technology applied to antibiotic research,” stated Steve Turner, Protea’s CEO. He added, “In this study, LAESI was shown to help reveal molecular information that has the potential to significantly contribute to new antibiotic research and development.”

Professor Vertes commented, “With the emergence of multidrug resistant microbial strains and bacterial pathogens, the need for rapid and accurate testing of antibiotic susceptibility is increasing. Understanding microbial metabolism and its inhibition by antibiotics is important for developing new treatments of bacterial infections. These results indicate the potential of LAESI-MSI to study antibiotic diffusion patterns in tissues qualitatively and quantitatively, and to explore complex bacterial interactions.”   

Characterizing existing and emerging microbial strains and their interactions with antimicrobial agents currently relies on time-consuming methods with limited ability to provide molecular information. Assessing the metabolic adaptation of microbial colonies requires the capability to perform non-targeted molecular imaging in a native environment. LAESI technology enabled the direct analysis and imaging of numerous metabolites and lipids in both two and three dimensions.

LAESI technology was invented in the laboratory of Professor Akos Vertes and exclusively licensed to Protea. LAESI is new bioanalytical technology that directly detects and maps molecules in diverse biological samples without the need to apply chemicals or introduce tags or tracers. LAESI enables both 2D and 3D molecular imaging, and results are available in seconds to minutes.         

About Protea Biosciences Group, Inc.:  Protea Biosciences Group, Inc. (OTCQB:PRGB) is a molecular information company providing innovative bioanalytical solutions to the pharmaceutical and life science industries. "Molecular information" refers to the generation and bioinformatic processing of very large data sets, obtained by applying the Company's technology to identify and characterize the proteins, metabolites, lipids and other biologically-active molecules which are the byproducts of all living cells and life forms. The company provides proprietary molecular information services to its clients in the pharmaceutical and life science industries.

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For more Information:  
Protea Biosciences Group, Inc., 1311 Pineview Dr., Morgantown, WV 26505 USA
Phone:  304.292.2226      Fax:  304.292.7101

https://proteabio.com/investors 

Stephen.turner@proteabio.com

Protea and LAESI are registered trademarks of Protea Biosciences Group, Inc.