Antibiotic resistance could be combated with nanomesh

Researchers at Flinders University in Australia and colleagues in Japan are fabricating nanomesh to make them effective at delivering antibiotics. Two antibiotics, Colistin and Vancomycin, were added together with gold nanoparticles to the mesh, before they were tested over a 14-day period to see how effective the nanomesh would be. The researchers studied how the release of the drugs affected the growth of E. Coli and found that Colistin with negatively charged gold nanoparticles produced the most efficient nanomesh, significantly affecting bacterial growth. Flinders Institute for Nanoscience and Technology Associate Professor, Ingo Koeper, said 20cm by 15cm pieces of mesh were produced which contain fibres 200nm in diameter. The researchers suggest dosages could be reduced compared to traditional drugs which can also diminish potential side effects and complications.
Professor Koeper said: “In order to deliver the antibiotics to a specific area, the antibiotics were embedded into the mesh produced using a technique called electrospinning, which has gained considerable interest in the biomedical community as it offers promise in many applications including wound management, drug delivery and antibiotic coatings. A high voltage is then applied between the needle connected to the syringe, and the collector plate which causes the polymer solution to form a cone as it leaves the syringe, at which point the electrostatic forces release a jet of liquid. Small charged nanoparticles altered the release of the antibiotics from the nanomesh. The addition of gold nanoparticles likely neutralised charge, causing the antibiotic to migrate toward the centre of the fibre, prolonging its release.”