ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Research Article | Open Access
P.A. Aboobacker1, Latha Ragunathan1 , Kavitha Kannaiyan1, Aravind C. Sasi1, Thiyagarajan Sanjeevi2, Ravikumar Sambandam2and E.K. Radhakrishnan3
¹Department of Microbiology, Aarupadai Veedu Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (DU), Kirumampakkam, Puducherry, India.
²Department of Medical Biotechnology, Aarupadai Veedu Medical College, Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation (DU), Kirumampakkam, Puducherry, India.
³School of Biosciences (SBS), Mahatma Gandhi University, PD Hills (PO), Kottayam, Kerala, India.
Article Number: 10895 | © The Author(s). 2026
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2026;20(1):669-683. https://doi.org/10.22207/JPAM.20.1.51
Received: 22 August 2025 | Accepted: 19 November 2025 | Published online: 02 March 2026
Issue online: March 2026
Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) remain one of the most common bacterial infections worldwide, where timely identification of causative pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility is critical for guiding therapy. Conventional culture-based methods are reliable but slow, creating an urgent need for rapid, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic solutions. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel Alamar Blue-based system capable of simultaneous Gram classification and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) directly from urine samples. The system utilizes Alamar Blue (resazurin), a redox indicator that shifts from violet (oxidized) to pink (reduced) in response to bacterial metabolic activity. Gram differentiation was achieved using two selective antibiotic marker vials: vancomycin/linezolid for Gram-positive and aztreonam/polymyxin B for Gram-negative bacteria. New Gram differentiation standardization (GDS) was performed using the CLSI MIC breakpoint method, ensuring clinical relevance. To improve accuracy, urine artifacts were removed through a filtration approach prior to analysis. Validation on ATCC reference strains demonstrated 100% agreement in Gram classification and 97% similarity with the conventional Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion method. On real urine samples (n = 25), the newly developed GDS predicted 24% of samples as negative, showing 100% concordance with culture-based findings. Furthermore, 16% of samples were identified as true positives, also showing 100% agreement with conventional laboratory reports. AST outcomes produced clear colorimetric readouts within five hours without requiring complex infrastructure. This Alamar Blue-based POC platform provides a rapid, user-friendly, and cost-effective alternative to conventional diagnostics, enabling both Gram differentiation and AST from urine specimens in resource-limited healthcare settings.

Keywords

Resazurin Reagent, Gram Classification, Point-of-Care Test, Rapid Urinary Tract Diagnosis, Antibiotic Sensitivity Test

Article Metrics

Article View: 203

Share This Article

© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.