Researchers Thwart Bacteria by Silencing Their Biochemical Communication

Disease-causing microbesmay one day be silenced using a new plastic-like material that blocks the chemical signals bacteria use to communicate.

Scientists have announced success in a reported first attempt to silence the biochemical conversations that disease-causing bacteria use to marshal their forces and cause infections. In a study in Biomacromolecules, they describe use of custom plastic-like materials to soak up the substances that bacteria produce and pass to one another as messages.

Elena Piletska and colleagues point out that more and more disease-causing bacteria are developing resistance to the effects of antibiotics. The problem has sparked a global scientific quest for new antibiotics, and novel approaches for dealing with bacteria that have caused millions of deaths throughout human history. One promising approach, they explain, blocks the chemical signals bacteria use to launch infection, a signaling process called “quorum sensing.”

The scientists designed special plastics, similar to those dentists use to repair damaged teeth, to capture signaling molecules in laboratory experiments and thwart microbes’ attempts to start an infection. The plastics also reduced the ability of the bacteria to form biofilms. Bacteria form these slimy layers inside medical tubing and other surfaces and use them as a refuge to grow and multiply.

The full article is available on in Biomacromolecules.

Tags: bacteria, Biomacromolecules, Elena Piletska, quorum sensing