Nanotechnology Boosts War On Superbugs

Summary posted by Meridian on 10/12/2008
Source: ScienceDaily
Author: n/a

Researchers from the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at the University College London (UCL) in the U.K. are using a nanomechanical method to evaluate vancomycin, one of few antibiotics effective against resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), in order to inform the development of new, more effective drugs. The researchers used cantilever arrays coated with mucopeptides from bacterial cell walls to examine what occurs in the body when vancomycin binds to the bacteria’s surface. The researchers found that vancomycin “generates a surface stress on the bacteria which can be detected by a tiny bending” of the cantilever arrays. The researchers believe that this stress may result in the disruption of the cell walls and the destruction of the bacteria. Researcher Gabriel Aeppli said: "This work at the LCN demonstrates the effectiveness of silicon-based cantilevers for drug screening applications. . . According to the Health Protection Agency, during 2007 there were around 7,000 cases of MRSA and more than a thousand cases of VRE in England alone. In recent decades the introduction of new antibiotics has slowed to a trickle but without effective new drugs the number of these fatal infections will increase." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

The original article may still be available at www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081012164441.htm

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