Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a new method to combat the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the university announced Monday.
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Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the most serious concerns in the medical community was antibiotic resistance, which occurs when bacteria develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.
According to the World Health Organization, "a growing list of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhoea, and foodborne diseases – are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat as antibiotics become less effective."
BGU researchers, along with colleagues from the United States and Germany, have developed "molecular tweezers" that can damage the pathogenic bacteria's biofilm, a thin layer of fibers that protects it, and prevent the bacteria's spread and toxicity.
The process does not attack the bacteria directly and, therefore, they cannot develop a resistance to the technology.
"In the research that lasted more than three years, we succeeded in preventing biofilm formation by using molecular tweezers," BGU's Dr. Ravit Malishev said. "This breakthrough may pave the way for new methods in fighting antibiotic-resistant bacteria."
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