{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]],"date-time":"2026-10-20T07:57:38Z","timestamp":1792483058223,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":238,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000268","name":"BBSRC","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BB\/Y005074\/2"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BB\/Y005074\/2"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000268","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000268","name":"BBSRC","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BB\/Y005325\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BB\/Y005325\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000268","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat to human health, and rapid methods for characterizing emerging antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) are needed. Here, we develop a semi-automated workflow using cell-free gene expression systems to measure the activity of two ARGs encoded on plasmid DNA that produce rifampicin-inactivating and gentamicin-inactivating enzymes. We validated the use of a small benchtop Myra liquid handling system compared to manual pipetting, with no statistical differences observed. After optimizing the pre-incubation time of ARGs and dispensing protocol, expression of aac(3)-IIa increased the half-maximal inhibition concentration (IC50) of gentamicin by over 150-fold, whilst arr-3 increased the IC50 of rifampicin by ~20-fold compared to controls. This methodology for rapid, semi-automated ARG characterization offers a strategy to combat AMR by assessing novel ARGs identified through genomic surveillance or profiling activity of new or derivative antibiotics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/synbio\/ysag010","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T17:31:26Z","timestamp":1787851886000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["A liquid handling platform for standardized quantification of cell-free enzymatic activity encoded by antimicrobial resistance genes"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Molly","family":"Bergum","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ ,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sahana","family":"Suthakaran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London , London SW7 2AZ ,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bethany","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Antimicrobial Discovery, Development and Diagnostics (AD3), Countermeasures Development, Evaluation and Preparedness Division, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down , Salisbury SP4 0JG ,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2288-0446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J Mark","family":"Sutton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Antimicrobial Discovery, Development and Diagnostics (AD3), Countermeasures Development, Evaluation and Preparedness Division, UK Health Security Agency, Porton Down , Salisbury SP4 0JG ,","place":["United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences, King\u2019s College London , Franklin-Wilkins Building, 150 Stamford Street, 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