The
mesoporous material Upsalite® is shown to inhibit growth of bacteria associated
with acne and hospital acquired infections. In a study, researchers have shown
that the mesoporous magnesium carbonate Upsalite® exerts strong bacteriostatic
effect on Staphylococcus epidermidis.
Staphylococcus
epidermidisis an opportunistic bacterium that that
has received the most attention for causing hospital acquired infections
(HAIs), and can readily become resistant to antibiotics. It is also associated
with acne as well as infections of intravascular devices and complications in
patients with implanted prosthetic material. The results open up for
development of materials inhibiting bacterial growth without the use of
antibiotics for e.g. dermal applications.
Porous materials are abundant in
nature; wood, rocks and cancellous bone are some examples of such materials. In
recent years, researchers have shown increased attention to porous materials,
especially mesoporous materials where the pores are between 2 and 50 nanometers
in diameter. Today such materials are developed for applications including
delivery of medicines, moisture adsorption and wastewater cleaning. For many of
these applications it is of importance to know how the materials affect
biological entities such as different cells and bacteria.
Upsalite® is a mesoporous magnesium
carbonate discovered in 2013 by researchers at Uppsala University.
The material has previously been shown
to be skin-friendly and to be a promising excipient for formulation of poorly
soluble drugs.
In a just published article, in the
journal ACS Omega,
researchers at Uppsala University show that Upsalite® exerts strong
bacteriostatic effect on Staphylococcus
epidermidis. This open up new possibilities for Upsalite®, especially in
certain dermal applications where an inhibition of bacterial growth is
desirable.
"These newly found bacteriostatic
properties combined with the ability to load and release molecules, for example
fragrances from the pores in the material are highly interesting for many
applications," says Maria Strømme, Professor at Department of Engineering
Sciences, Nano Technology and Functional Materials one of the authors behind
the study.
For further details see:
Posted by Dr. Tim Sandle