At UNamur, a doctoral thesis led by Jozie Tientcheu—with support from SPW Recherche as part of the Win4Doc program—is exploring a new approach to speed up the diagnosis of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Called STABLE2, the project is being developed in collaboration with Coris BioConcept, a Walloon company specializing in rapid diagnostic tests.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the major public health challenges. Certain bacteria produce enzymes, called beta-lactamases, that can render widely used antibiotics—such as beta-lactams—ineffective. Among these, resistance to carbapenems—which are often reserved for severe infections—is of particular concern.
Rapidly identifying these resistance patterns is essential for adapting treatment, avoiding the unnecessary use of last-resort antibiotics, and limiting the spread of resistant bacteria in healthcare settings.
The goal of STABLE2 is to reduce the time between sample collection and diagnosis. “To achieve this, the project combines synthetic chemistry, electrochemistry, and microbiology. It aims to design molecules analogous to beta-lactams and then measure their transformation when they come into contact with the enzymes responsible for certain types of resistance,” explains Ph.D. student Jozie Tientcheu.
This transformation can generate a measurable electrochemical signal. Ultimately, this approach could contribute to the development of tests that are faster, more targeted, and better suited to the needs of laboratories and hospitals.
The project is part of the expansion of the electrochemical test portfolio at Coris BioConcept, a company based in Gembloux that has been active in the rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases since 1996. Already involved in the detection of bacterial resistance, the company contributes its industrial expertise and understanding of real-world needs.
At UNamur, research is conducted at the Bioorganic Chemistry Laboratory (CBO), which designs and synthesizes the molecules needed to develop the test.
“The fight against infectious diseases is the CBO’s primary area of research. The collaboration with Coris BioConcept is very promising because it establishes a direct link between the laboratory’s expertise and applications that can be rapidly made available to the medical community—and thus benefit patients. The two entities complement each other perfectly, creating a win-win relationship and genuine synergy.”
Win4Doc is a program established by Wallonia (SPW Research) that allows a Walloon company to hire a researcher to conduct doctoral research in collaboration with a university research unit.
