Antibiotic drugs were one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. But today antibiotic resistance is one of the deadliest problems to global health and security. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change their response to reduce the effectiveness of anti-bacterial drugs. The bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics may infect humans and animals. The infections they cause are harder to treat compared with those caused by non-resistant bacteria.
The world is heading towards a post-antibiotic phase, where common bacterial infections could once again result in large number of deaths. The antibiotics that were used to treat infections like pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and salmonellosis are becoming less efficient. And, we reached this situation due to the misuse and overuse of these life-saving drugs.
Research to find better bacteria-fighting technologies are on. A groundbreaking discovery in this segment came recently, when a team of researchers announced that precision-engineered and nano-sized particles of magneto-responsive, Gallium-based liquid metal can be used to shred bacteria and bacterial biofilm—the protective “house” where bacteria live and multiply.
Published in ACS Nano, the research was led by scientists at the Royal Melbourne University of Technology. This is the only team in the world investigating the anti-bacterial powers of magnetic liquid metal nanoparticles. The liquid metal droplets have the ability to change shape and develop sharp edges when exposed to a low-intensity magnetic field.
The team found that when placed in contact with a bacterial biofilm, the movement of metal particles under the influence of magnetic field, coupled with the presence of nano-sharp edges, results in the physical rupturing of bacteria cells and the biofilm matrix. The effectiveness of the method was tested in two types (gram-positive and gram-negative) of bacterial biofilms.
The laboratory tests showed that 90 minutes exposure to the liquid metal nanoparticles resulted in the destruction of 99 per cent of bacteria. But the droplets did not affect the human cells. Medical experts say that this technology has versatility: it could be used as spray coating to implants, to make it anti-bacterial; there is a possibility that it would also be developed as an injectable treatment that could be used at the site of infection.
The pre-clinical animal trials of the technology are in progress. The human trials would happen in the coming years. The team is exploring the scope of using this technology to treat fungal infections and tumours, too.