Nanoparticles coated with antibiotic eliminate drug-resistant bacteria

The method consists of coating nanoparticles that are

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made of silver and silica—potentially toxic to both microorganisms and human cells—with a layer of antibiotic. Owing to chemical affinity, the resulting nanopharmaceutical acts only on the pathogens and is inert to the organism.

"We used the antibiotic as a sort of bait to have the nanoparticles target the bacteria with a large amount of the drug. The combined action of the drug with the silver ions proved capable of killing even resistant microorganisms," said Mateus Borba Cardoso, a researcher at the National Energy & Materials Research Center (CNPEM).

The project is supported by FAPESP and is part of a line of research that aims to develop systems to make the action of nanoparticles selective.

In previous articles, the group showed that nanoparticles can also be used to make anti-cancer chemotherapy more effective by delivering the drug directly to tumor cells and leaving healthy cells intact. The nanoparticles could also be applied to potentially inactivate HIV in transfusion blood bags, for example.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-nanoparticles-coated-antibiotic-drug-resistant-bacteria.html#jCp