RESEARCHERS have invented a nano-thin, superbug-slaying material that could one day be integrated into wound dressings and implants to prevent or heal bacterial infections.
In advanced clinical trials, the material is effective against a broad range of drug-resistant bacterial cells, including 'golden staph', commonly referred to as superbugs, the researchers found.
Antibiotic resistance is a known major global health threat which is claimed to cause about 700,000 deaths annually, a figure which could rise to 10m deaths a year by 2050 without the development of new antibacterial therapies.
The new study led by RMIT University and the University of South Australia (UniSA) tested black phosphorus-based nanotechnology as an advanced infection treatment and wound healing therapeutic.
Results published in Advanced Therapeutics, HERE, showed it treated infections, killing over 99% of bacteria, without damaging other cells in biological models.
The treatment achieved comparable results to an antibiotic in eliminating infection and accelerated healing, with wounds closing by 80% over seven days.
The superbug-killing nanotechnology developed by RMIT was rigorously tested in pre-clinical trials by wound-healing experts at UniSA.
RMIT has sought patent protection for the black phosphorus flakes including its use in wound healing formulations, such as gels.
RMIT co-lead researcher, Prof Sumeet Walia, explained that the study showed how the nano-thin material provided rapid antimicrobial action, then self-decomposed after the threat of infection had been eliminated.
"The beauty of our innovation is that it is not simply a coating - it can actually be integrated into common materials that devices are made of, as well as plastic and gels, to make them antimicrobial," said Walia from the RMIT's School of Engineering.
A previous study led by RMIT revealed that black phosphorus was effective at killing microbes when spread in nano-thin layers on surfaces used to make wound dressings and implants such as cotton and titanium, or integrated into plastics used in medical instruments. JG
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