 Staphylococcus aureus, or staff, is a human commensal bacterium found in almost one-third of the population. Unfortunately, this bacterium can become a dangerous opportunistic pathogen. With the increasing number of healthcare-associated infections and multi-drug-resistant bacterial strains, staff is now a major worldwide concern. Rapid detection of this bacterium has become an important issue for biomedical applications. In keeping with the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Ames are dedicated to promoting good health and well-being by developing methods to accurately and quickly identify pathogens. Such methods are important and required in the healthcare sector and wherever microbial contamination must be avoided. There is also a need in the research community for non-toxic stains that allow for real-time monitoring of live bacteria to understand infection dynamics in vitro and in vivo. Based on tools designed to illuminate chemical building blocks of plants, the team at Ames has developed molecular sensors that are now helping researchers detect the bacteria responsible for staff infections. These so-called optotracers could provide a vital new tool for spotting harmful pathogens everywhere from the assembly line to the operating room. Some methods for detecting bacteria in the clinic rely on culture-based techniques. That means bacteria must be grown to numbers large enough to see and count under the microscope. This is a tedious and time-consuming process, a serious drawback when treating life-threatening infections. Optotracers make bacteria detection much faster and easier. These molecules are small, chemically well-defined, and light up when they dock with their target on bacterial cell walls. It's these very properties that enable researchers to ID and analyze staff bacteria in real-time. And not only in pure samples, but also when they were mixed with other bacteria, a situation researchers and clinicians often encounter in real life. That level of selectivity is linked to the optotracer's chemical design. Their unique composition and length are engineered to bind to complex sugars such as peptidoglycans which line the cell walls of staff bacteria. And it's only when it binds that the optotracer activates and illuminates the bacteria. Optotracing is a potent technology under development. Work is still needed before it can be used in hospitals for the detection of bacteria that cause infection. Screening a greater variety of bacterial species could help researchers understand optotracer's precise mechanism of binding and develop new chemistries that could also help boost the selectivity and stability of different optotracer molecules. Overall, optotracing is a powerful detection technology. Simple and easy to deploy, optotracing could find use anywhere pathogenic bacteria might be suspected to threaten human health and productivity. Ultimately, Ames' effort in developing this novel technology are dedicated to meeting the urgent need for rapid and accurate diagnostics at the point of care, allowing clinicians and patients to make more informed treatment decisions.