User:JanusICP/antimicrobial nanotechnology

Antimicrobial Nanotechnology is the research of using biofilm to disrupt a microbe's cell membrane, deliver an electric charge to the microbe, and result in immediate cellular death via the “mechanical kill” process that prevents the original microbe from mutating into a “superbug”.

The biofilms are long atomic chains that are large enough to pierce the cell wall like a “bed of spikes”. These spikes are one thousandth the diameter of a human hair, too small to harm large cells in mammals. These chains of atoms carry a strong positive charge that attracts negatively charged bacteria. Applying nanotechnology to the problem of superbugs and multiple drug resistance organisms, has created this new class of antimicrobial.

Problem Statement
An article from the 22 February 2010 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, stated that health care–associated infections affect 1.7 million hospitalizations each year. The study also listed, sepsis and pneumonia, two common conditions caused by hospital-aquired infections like MRSA, killed 48,000 Americans in 2006, and cost the nation over 8 billion dollars to treat. Hospital-acquired infections are caused by "superbugs", germs that can't be killed with common antibiotics. However, the most alarming finding was that nearly 20 percent of people who developed sepsis following surgery died as a result of the infection.

The most common nosocomial pathogens may well survive or persist on surfaces for months and can thereby be a continuous source of transmission. Most gram-positive bacteria, such as Enterococcus spp. (including VRE), Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), or Streptococcus pyogenes survive for months on dry surfaces.

VRE has been cultured from monitor knobs, doorknobs, gowns, linens, bed rails, side tables, IV pumps, pressure cuffs, walls, floors, wall plates, and has been found to survive on surfaces and equipment for over three days. Dry cotton fabrics have been shown to support vancomycin resistant Enterococci (VRE) for up to 18 hrs and fungi for over five days.

The development of nanotechnology antimicrobials are promising in the fight against transmission of microbes by reducing the quantity of infections agents on touch points (doorknobs, rails, tables, etc). These new products are EPA approved and awaiting adoption by hospitals and units where community acquired infections spread quickly, such as cruise ships and prisons. Preventing the creation of "superbugs" starts with the environmental controls, and proper use of antibiotics. Studies show that if a doctor believes a patient wants an antibiotic, they are much more likely to prescribe one, even if they don't need one.

Safety
Antimicrobial nanotechnology is considered a “green” solution, it is water based and does not leach, deplete, and contains no heavy metals, arsenic, tin or polychlorinated phenols. From testing, a shirt treated with the antimicrobial nanotechnology will break down in a landfill in 5 years to carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and silicon dioxide from which it was derived.

Using a Nanotechnology Antimicrobial
The biofilms are developed into consumer products to be sprayed or wiped onto both porous and nonporous surfaces. Once a surface is treated with the correct antimicrobial nanotechnology, the microbe resistance will last up to 90 days, or the usable life of the product if protected during the manufacturing process. On the prevention end, researchers from Europe are developing nanotechnology-enhanced textiles that are resistant to MRSA and could be used to make hospital gowns, curtains, beddings and pillow covers.