A new solution has emerged that can tackle the problem of antibiotic-resistant super bacteria. This method involves inhibiting super bacteria through newly developed antibiotics based on gold nanoparticles and lipid nanoparticles.
The Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology announced on the 8th that a research team led by Chief Researcher Ryu Chung-min at the Infectious Disease Research Center has developed a technology to effectively control super bacteria using bionano technology. The research results were published on Feb. 2 in the international journal "ACS Nano" and featured as a cover paper in "Advanced Healthcare Materials."
Super bacteria are multi-drug resistant bacteria that are difficult to treat with existing antibiotic therapies. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that super bacteria could lead to a "next-generation pandemic," emphasizing the urgent need for new antimicrobial therapies.
The research team combined gold nanoparticles with an organic substance called siderophore that moves iron, necessary for bacterial survival, into the cells. When exposed to light at 808 nm (nanometers—one billionth of a meter), the gold nanoparticles inside the bacteria generated hundreds of degrees of heat instantaneously, killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The research team confirmed rapid wound healing using a mouse skin infection model.
In another study, the research team created new lipid nanoparticles that can deliver a gene editing system (CRISPR-Cas13a) into bacteria. When the bacteria-specific guide RNA recognizes a specific bacterial gene, the enzyme (Cas13a) in the gene editing system randomly degrades the RNA inside the cells, resulting in bacterial death. They also confirmed that sepsis was successfully suppressed in sepsis animal model experiments.
Chief Researcher Ryu Chung-min, who led the study, noted, "The technology developed by incorporating NANO technology into the biology of super bacteria is significant in that it presents a next-generation infection treatment method that deviates from existing antibiotic treatment methods," and added, "We expect this could mark a significant turning point in the fight against super bacteria through further research."
References
ACS Nano (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c06501
Advanced Healthcare Materials (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202403281