Bacteria are rapidly developing resistance to our best antibiotics, potentially ushering in a new ‘medical dark age’ in which currently treatable infections become deadly once again. Scientists at the university (NUS) have developed a self-assembling “nanonet” that can trap and kill bacteria.
The new superbug problem is the epitome of evolution. Essentially, environmental pressures such as the lethal force of antibiotics leave only bacteria with natural resistance to the drug. This process has been repeated over the decades and generations of antibiotics, but we are running out of options.
In addition to developing new drugs, scientists are experimenting with alternative ways to control bacteria, ideally ones that don’t evolve resistance. This could include lighting, coatings, molecular drills, “poison darts” and liquid metal shredders.
NUS researchers are currently adding new weapons to their arsenal. They developed a nanonet that could self-assemble in the presence of certain bacteria, trapping the bacteria and making them more vulnerable to antimicrobial molecules.
Advanced functional materials
The team designed a series of short peptides consisting of 15-16 residues. These peptides can go dormant until they detect a specific trigger – two of her molecules that are key components of bacterial membranes. When these molecules appear, the peptide fragments are caught by bacteria and begin to grow into elongated fibrils. The fibrils form cross-links with fibrils attached to other bacteria. This quickly creates a large tangled mess that traps bacteria.
In tests in mice, nanonets showed significant efficacy against bacteria resistant to colistin, one of the antibiotics of last resort. Importantly, they showed no signs of toxicity in mice.
Not only are these nanonets naturally selective for superbugs, but the peptides that compose them can be tuned to target a wide variety of bacteria. The team says the technology shows great promise as a potential new antibiotic treatment, but of course more research needs to be done before then.
A study was published in a journal Advanced functional materials.
Source: National University of Singapore
