Toxin Absorbing Nanosponges to Control MRSA
To control bacterial toxins at an infection site, scientists at the University of California, San Diego, created nanoparticle sponges and surrounded them with hydrogel. As this piece describes it: “Each nanosponge is a nanoparticle coated in a red blood cell membrane. This coating disguises the nanosponges as red blood cells, which are the real targets of the harmful toxins produced by MRSA. By masquerading as red blood cells, the nanosponges attract harmful toxins and remove them from the bloodstream. In order for the nanosponges to remove toxins from a specific spot, such as an infected skin wound, a lot of them need to be held at that spot. This is where the hydrogel plays a role; it can hold billions of nanosponges per milliliter in one spot. The hydrogel’s pores are also small enough to keep most of the nanosponges from escaping, but big enough so that toxins can easily get inside and attach to the nanosponges.” This is a potential solution for dealing with antibiotic resistant bacteria. MORE
Image Credit: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego