Fighting Mucoviscidosis with nanoparticle solution

Cystic fibrosis or mucoviscidosis (image is credited to epainassist.com)

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of certain bacteria which can prevent themselves getting hurts by the presence of antibiotic. This ability certainly is dangerous for human being. To fight against it, scientists from Medicine and Pharmacy of the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany, utilize nanoparticle as weapon to fight the antibiotic resistance.

AeglePhysics.com – In Germany, one from 3,300 children is born with Mucoviscidosis which is a mutations affected single channel of albumen on the cell, causing the reducing of amount of water when biologically discretion. As a result, the tough mucus is produced affecting inner organs which causes organs malfunction because the mucus blocks the airways, and unfortunately, the mucus stays in the respiration organs creating an area which is considered as home for several pathological bacteria. As consequences, the lungs will be infected by the bacteria, and when the lungs are damaged, the patients must perform organs transplant quickly.

One of the solution to prevent the increasing of colonization made by the pathological bacteria is by giving them antibiotics. However, the evolution might have provided us with another challenge, which is the resistance of the bacteria in defending themselves throughout antibiotics. So, the antibiotics treatment will be not effective and efficient in curing the pathogenic disease. Therefore, the scientists utilize more efficient method in treating the airway infections caused by the mucus and bacteria. These nanoparticles actually contain antibiotics so it will be arriving more efficiently to their destination.

How exactly the bacteria can defend themselves so they are called as antibiotic resistance? The truth is, the bacteria created a layer of protection developed from the mucus. This resistance is grown underneath the layer of mucus which can block mostly of the bacteria causing the antibiotics are prevented.

So, in order to penetrate the layer, scientists encapsulated the active reactive agents including the Tobramycin antibiotics. The capsule is in form of polyester polymer, and thus it is redesigned and re-engineered into nano-sized. Before they simulated in a lung which has pathogenic mucus, they have to test it it in the laboratory. Fortunately, during the test, the antibiotics were able to arrive because of the flow movements. Interestingly, they found that the nanoparticles traveled easily through the sponge-like net of the mucus layer. And when arrived, they terminated the pathogens without finding any problems.

This method is effective and efficient for human body. It can penetrate the protective layers created by the bacteria. And, the materials are all made from organic material which are biocompatible, biodegradable, nontoxic, and it is not dangerous for humans.