Gallium Shredder
The resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics poses a serious threat to human health worldwide, causing more than 700,000 deaths per year. Experts predict that by 2050, the number of victims of resistant infections may increase to 10 million people per year.
Dangerous drug-resistant bacteria spread and form biofilms that cannot be destroyed with existing antibiotics.
A study conducted by the Royal Melbourne University of Technology (RMIT) offers a fundamentally new direction in the fight against bacteria. It is based on the action of nanoscale gallium metal particles in a liquid state (it melts at a temperature of about 30 degrees) to crush bacteria and destroy bacterial biofilm – a protective "home" in which bacteria thrive – without harm to other cells.
The research team working on this technology is the only one in the world investigating the antibacterial potential of gallium nanoparticles.
When exposed to a low-intensity magnetic field, nanoscale metal droplets change shape and acquire sharp edges. When metal comes into contact with bacterial biofilm, its movements and sharp edges destroy the biofilm and physically crush bacterial cells.
Source: article in ACS Nano.
In their study, the group tested the effectiveness of the technology against two types of bacterial biofilms: gram-positive and gram-negative. After 90 minutes of exposure to gallium nanoparticles, both biofilms were destroyed, and 99% of the bacteria died. Laboratory studies have shown that bacteria-destroying nanoparticles do not affect human cells.
Antibiotics discovered 90 years ago have revolutionized medicine, but they are losing effectiveness due to misuse. The world is moving towards an antibiotic-free future where common bacterial infections, minor injuries and routine surgeries can once again become deadly.
Not only will reducing the use of antibiotics help to avoid such a future, it is necessary to completely rethink the methods of combating bacterial infections. Bacteria are incredibly adaptable, and over time they develop defenses against the chemicals used in antibiotics, but they have no way of coping with a physical attack. In the new method, gallium nanoparticles physically tear bacteria into pieces and break the biofilm in which the bacteria live and multiply. With further development, this technology has the potential to help overcome antibiotic resistance.
Article by A.Elbourneetal. Antibacterial Liquid Metals: Biofilm Treatment via Magnetic Activation is published in the journal ACS Nano.
Aminatadzhieva, portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of RMIT University: Bacteria shredding tech to fight drug-resistant superbugs.