Results of a newly published study showed that a material based on boron nitride and ultrafine metalized silver or iron oxide particles does not consist of typical negative side effects, and thus can turn into a safe alternative to antibiotics in traumatology, implantology, and surgery.
As specified in a Phys.org report, materials scientists from MISIS University have shown antibacterial nano-coatings with up to 99.99 percent efficiency against bacterial and fungal pathogens.
Prickly and safe: Boron nitride vs. antibiotics @misisru @TheLancet https://t.co/qxBrp8YA3v https://t.co/CnNxtSldcK
— PhysOrg Physics News (@physorg_physics) August 18, 2022
Essentially, the history of mankind is associated with the fight against infections, and the problem remains acute.
Because of a substantial rise in the number of surgical interventions, as well as the occurrence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, the problem of suppressing infection in the initial stages has turned particularly relevant.
For instance, in a previous report published in the Lancet scientific journal, more than one million people died from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in 2019.
The same publication specified that death from antibiotic resistance is currently only second to stroke and coronary heart disease.
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Antibacterial Nano-Coatings
Scientists worldwide are trying to solve the problem of bacterial infections caused by the installation of implants during a surgical procedure.
For quite some time now, orthopedic and dental surgery is a severe problem. It is not a secret that concomitant drug therapy for inflammation around implants frequently results in side effects because of the properties and high doses of antibiotics.
In the study published in Applied Surface Science, a team of scientists from NUST MISIS, in collaboration with colleagues from the State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology offered a non-standard solution to the problem.
Specifically, they showed a "complex triple effect on an infectious problem," including physical damage to the bacterial membrane, a bactericidal effect because of the release of metal ions, and the synthesis of reactive oxygen species that kill pathogens.
To address the issue, the researchers have synthesized coatings that consist of boron nitride nanoparticles, altered with ultrafine metallic silver on iron oxide nanoparticles.
Killing 100 Percent of Examined Microorganisms
Boron nitride carriers essentially have a distinctive spherical shape that has a surface covered with needles. In addition, bacteria are dying because of the physical destruction of their cell membrane upon direct contact with the surface.
The coatings, themselves, which are described in a Nanowerk report are releasing ions relying on concentration. The team's studies have demonstrated that at a minimal inhibitory concentration, iron nanoparticles effectively stop the growth of gram-negative E. coli bacteria, as well as staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial strains during the initial three hours.
According to one of the authors of the study, Christina Gudz, a researcher from the NUST MISIS Inorganic Nanomaterials Laboratory, coatings with silver at a minimum concentration "equal to 12 μg/cm" totally inactive microbes.
It turned out that such a coating kills 100 percent of the examined microorganisms. Microbial strains and Candida parapsilosis fungus are dying within 24 hours of exposure.
A Solution to Future Dangerous Strains of Bacteria and Viruses
The developers have underscored that the tests have proven the lack of cytotoxicity of the coating. This means that it is safe for the patient, while its substance works effectively against pathogens.
The dominant distinction in the coating compared to the analogs is the minimal doses of microbial components and the total absence of an antibiotic filler, which takes out resistance.
The researchers tested the gathered samples as coatings for implants. The next step will be the employment of the development as the dressing material in surgery and traumatology.
They are planning to carry out in-vitro studies as well, in the future, although now, the priority is to perform studies on dangerous strains of microbes and viruses like Vibro cholerae and COVID-19, among others.
Related information about boron nitride is shown on TEDx Talks' YouTube video below:
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