The “TOP VIEW” is a new procedure that has been optimized in our Laboratory and applied to detect S. aureus by using a specific antibody (ABCAM- Ab20920) that allows  to visualize bacteria distribution on the stratum corneum surface of reconstructed human epidermis (RhE) or Full-thickness (FT) skin models.

Compared to standard immunostaining performed on paraffin vertical sections, the TOP VIEW has the advantage to:

• Provide a visual image of bacterium adhesion and distribution on the whole tissue surface
• Give information on the outcome of the colonization
• Evaluate the efficacy of anti-bacterial adhesion or antibacterial products by comparing the distribution of S. aureus in the relevant series.

The above TOP VIEW image has been captured on Phenion FT-skin model colonized during 24h with S. aureus 33591 MRSA with inoculum level 1-10 x 10⁶ CFU/mL.