Nanodevices for the treatment of infections caused by bacterial biofilms

Chronic infectious diseases in which the infectious agent is recalcitrant and does not respond effectively to antimicrobial treatment represent a serious problem very difficult to solve. In most of these infections, the pathogen grows attached to tissues or inert surfaces, such as catheters or prostheses, forming biofilms, reducing the effectiveness of current drugs. In our group we work on the development of nanodevices for the complete elimination of biofilms in the treatment and prevention of biofilms infections for its application in clinical and dental practice. In this line, in collaboration with the team of Prof. Ramon Martinez Mañez at Valencia Polytechnic University (NANOSPAIN), we have developed a self-propelled nanomotor with an encapsulated antibiotic, which is coated with a biofilm-disaggregating enzyme. Thanks to its nanometric size and its autonomous movement, the biomedical nanosystem is capable of disintegrating the biofilm matrix acting as a molecular drill, effectively penetrating and destroying the matrix and releasing low concentrations of antibiotic in a controlled and localized way, which increases its therapeutic effect.

 

 

Intelligent nanoparticles that release an antiseptic when exposed to an acidic pH, as it would happen in a caries biofilm. Image from MICHAEL OSADCIW/UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER.

 

Participants: PhD. Miglé Ziemyté and Dr. María D. Ferrer García