CBB Member Emmanuel Ho and collaborators from the University of Manitoba have created a new therapy to combat deadly bacteria infecting hospital patients worldwide.
The new therapy is a biocide able to target antibiotic-defiant bacteria such as Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The team's goal was to find a way around the superbug's defences, using a new approach based on material science.
“We wanted to be able to help vulnerable patients suffering from chronic infections,” said Ho. "Once they're infected with a resistant strain of bacteria, it's very difficult to get them well again."
This latest development is a beacon of hope in an era where bacteria are becoming to develop resistance to antibiotics. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 700,000 people die annually from antibiotic-resistant infections and they expect this toll to climb to 10 million by 2050, higher than the current death rate from cancer.
Another researcher on the project, Song Liu from the University of Manitoba, created a potent biocide to kill all bacterial cells, including antibiotic-resistant cells - that it comes into contact with. To compliment Liu's work, Ho encased the biocide in solid-lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and added an antibody, a protein to seek out MRSA bacteria over other cells. When the SLNs reach the bacteria, they release the biocide, killing only the target, and leaving healthy cells unaffected.
Ho and collaborators say bacterial resistance is unlikely to develop with their SLN particles because the antibodies being used to target MSRA won’t cause the bacteria to develop an enzyme or other defence mechanisms in response.
The article appeared recently in the journal Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, and Medicine.