IIT BHU scientists develop novel green light-activated technology to fight bacterial infections

In a significant achievement scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi BHU published their research on an innovative lightactivated antibacterial technology in Communications Chemistry a prestigious international journal of the globally recognised Nature PortfolioThe research paper titled Greenlightactivated OsII metallophotoantibiotics for antibacterial therapy and infected wound healing presents a promising scientific approach to addressing some of the major challenges in modern healthcare including antimicrobial resistance persistent bacterial infections and infected wound healingThe research represents a collaborative effort between the research groups of Dr Samya Banerjee Associate Professor Department of Chemistry and Dr Sudip Mukherjee School of Biomedical Engineering IIT BHU VaranasiAcircThe research team comprises Apurba Mandal Debayani Chakraborty Arif Ali Mandal Rohit Pandey Ashish Kumar Agrawal Rashi Gautam and Sweety TiwariThe study brings together expertise in chemistry biomedical engineering and pharmaceutical engineering to explore new approaches for addressing complex biomedical challengesThe publication of this research in the prestigious Nature Portfolio journal Communications Chemistry underscores IIT BHUs commitment to interdisciplinary scientific research and innovation aimed at addressing pressing societal and healthcare needsThe study demonstrates how specially designed chemical compounds activated by green light can effectively inhibit bacterial growth disrupt protective bacterial layers known as biofilms and accelerate the healing of infected wounds in laboratory studies involving ratsThe publication in Communications Chemistry marks a notable research accomplishment for IIT BHU highlighting the instituteacirciquestiquests interdisciplinary research capabilities and its contribution to developing innovative solutions to global healthcare challengesAnother significant concern is the formation of bacterial biofilms protective layers formed by bacteria on surfaces including medical devices which make infections difficult to eliminateTo address these challenges the research team developed three specialised chemical compounds known as osmiumbased metallophotoantibiotics Os1 Os2 and Os3These compounds become particularly effective when exposed to green light Upon activation they generate reactive oxygen species ROS highly reactive molecules that damage bacterial cells and interfere with their essential biological processes ultimately inhibiting bacterial growthThe researchers evaluated the compounds against three bacterial species Escherichia coli E coli Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis The findings demonstrated effective antibacterial activity under greenlight exposure with Os1 emerging as the most promising candidate among the three compoundsOne of the significant findings of the study is the ability of the developed compound to combat bacterial biofilmsBiofilms are communities of bacteria surrounded by a protective layer that enables them to persist on surfaces and resist conventional antibacterial treatments Their formation presents a particular challenge in managing infections associated with medical devices and other healthcare environmentsIn laboratory experiments Os1 when activated by green light demonstrated approximately 85 per cent inhibition of biofilm formation in both E coli and Bacillus subtilisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever