Infectious disease is a perennially important area for both life science research and drug discovery. Some of the first applications of IVIS® imaging technology were in tracking infections and monitoring host responses, and these applications are still at the forefront of research. Our bioluminescent infectious disease light-producing microorganisms have been developed to mimic both acute and chronic standard infection protocols presently used by researchers.

• Engineered Bacterium: Proteus mirabilis - Xen44
• Parental Strain: American Type Culture Collection, used under license
• In Vitro/Ex Vivo: Growth and antibiogram profiles
• In Vivo: UTI

Advantages of using bioluminescent light-producing microorganisms for drug discovery in vitro:

• Rapid and readily amenable to high throughput screening, e.g., 96 or 384-well format
• Sensitivity - subtle changes in cellular viability are rapidly detected
• Inexpensive - no additional substrates needed for bacterial assays

Advantages of using bioluminescent light-producing microorganisms for drug discovery in vivo:

• Rapid identification of lead drug candidates
• Real-time efficacy data
• May help to decrease drug failure by allowing disease relapse to be monitored in the same animal