The effectiveness of antibiotics is falling, so scientists are looking for replacements. Researchers from Washington
Growth of superbugs with medicinalresistance is a serious public health problem. Because of this, according to some studies, up to 10 million people may die by 2050. There are already strains of bacteria that are resistant to all antibiotics used.
The authors of the new work studied how ultra-short pulses of laser radiation can kill viruses and ordinary bacteria, in particular, they were interested in those that are resistant to antibiotics.
The team focused on twospecific types of superbugs: Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Escherichia coli. As a result, laser pulses destroyed more than 99.9% of the microbe. According to the authors, lasers excite protein structures inside viruses and bacteria, causing molecular bonds to break.
Also, laser pulses do not harm human cells - they must be several orders of magnitude more powerful to pose a real threat.
According to the researchers, their approach will be used to disinfect biological products in vitro and even to treat bloodstream infections.
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