Journal article

Antibacterial Liquid Metals: Biofilm Treatment via Magnetic Activation

Aaron Elbourne, Samuel Cheeseman, Paul Atkin, Nghia P Truong, Nitu Syed, Ali Zavabeti, Md Mohiuddin, Dorna Esrafilzadeh, Daniel Cozzolino, Chris F McConville, Michael D Dickey, Russell J Crawford, Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh, James Chapman, Torben Daeneke, Khanh Truong Vi

ACS Nano | American Chemical Society | Published : 2020

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance has made the treatment of biofilm-related infections challenging. As such, the quest for next-generation antimicrobial technologies must focus on targeted therapies to which pathogenic bacteria cannot develop resistance. Stimuli-responsive therapies represent an alternative technological focus due to their capability of delivering targeted treatment. This study provides a proof-of-concept investigation into the use of magneto-responsive gallium-based liquid metal (LM) droplets as antibacterial materials, which can physically damage, disintegrate, and kill pathogens within a mature biofilm. Once exposed to a low-intensity rotating magnetic field, the LM droplets become p..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by CASS Foundation Medicine/Science grant


Awarded by Australian Research Council (ARC)


Awarded by ARC


Awarded by Jack Brockhoff Foundation (JBF)


Awarded by National Science Foundation (ERC)


Awarded by DECRA Fellowship


Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank both the Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility (RMMF) and the MicroNano Research Facility (MNRF) at RMIT University for the use of their facilities. The authors thank Dr. Thi Hoang Yen Dang, Dr. Andrew Ang, and Mr. Duy Quang Pham of Swinburne University of Technology for assistance with obtaining some of the SEM micrographs displayed in this article. The authors thank Ms. Najma Fithri of the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, for kindly performing the blood lysis, hemolysis, and platelet testing. This research was supported by a CASS Foundation Medicine/Science grant (REF: 8485). The Cypher ES AFM instrument was funded in part by grant LE170100096 from the Australian Research Council (ARC). T.D. acknowledges funding received from the ARC (DE190100100). This research was funded in part by the Jack Brockhoff Foundation (JBF Grant number 4655-2019 AE). M.D.D. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (ERC EEC-1160483). N.P.T. acknowledges the award of a DECRA Fellowship (DE180100076) and a Discovery Project grant (DP200100231) from the Australian Research Council. V.K.T acknowledges the support from Australian-American Fulbright Commission.