Reviving antibiotics with two-faced nanoparticles
A team led by Yan Yu develops a double-pronged approach to fighting antibiotic resistance
Over the decades, many strains of disease-causing bacteria have evolved defenses to even the most potent antibiotics, setting off a growing health crisis. The rise of antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” has also set off an arms race. As germs find new ways to withstand drugs, researchers are looking for new ways to break down their defenses.
In a significant step forward, a research team led by Yan Yu, the Art Krieg Professor of Chemistry and a professor of biomedical engineering, has restored the power of failing antibiotics by combining them with two-sided nanoparticles, ultra-small building blocks of materials less than 100 nanometers across. The nanoparticles showed a remarkable ability to compromise bacterial cell walls, leaving the germs vulnerable to attack. “The nanoparticles supercharged the antibiotics,” said Yu. “This research could point to a new way to give new life to old anti-bacterial drugs.”
The study was reported in Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society. It was co-authored by Yu’s colleagues at Indiana University and Osaka University in Japan.
Yu and the team created nanoparticles with two distinct sides. Called Janus nanoparticles after the two-faced Roman god of beginnings and endings, the particles double the possibilities for chemists. One face was coated in positively charged molecules that help the nanoparticle attach to the bacterial cell wall. The other face is coated with hydrophobic (water-repelling) molecules that cause the cell wall to rupture. “A single Janus nanoparticle carries two punches in one shot,” Yu said.
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