05/03/2026
Badacze proponują nowatorskie zastosowanie nanocząstek na bazie polimerów przewodzących tj. polipirol do zwalczania bakteriofagów. Dzięki dobraniu odpowiednich grup funkcyjnych na powierzchni polimeru bakteriofagi są bez szans. Zdjęcie zrealizowane dzięki uprzejmości Zdrofit Wolapark w Warszawie.
fot: Grzegorz Krzyżewski
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Silent enemies, smart weapons - switching off contamination by nanoparticles
Bacteriophages are viruses that can kill bacteria through highly specific interactions. While this property can be beneficial in selected applications, bacteriophages represent a serious threat to laboratories and industries that rely on bacterial cultures for production. Their selective inactivation remains a major challenge. Recently, researchers from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in Poland, demonstrated an innovative solution that enables targeting the surface of bacteriophage through electrostatic interactions as a promising strategy for their inactivation without adversely affecting bacterial strains or eukaryotic cells.
Decades ago, antibiotics were considered wonder drugs capable of curing bacterial infections. Unfortunately, overuse of these drugs led to the development of antibiotic-resistance in many pathogenic bacterial strains, raising global concern. One of the solutions to defeat these pathogens is bacteriophages, also called phages. While phages are explored as therapeutic agents in medicine, their presence is highly undesirable in laboratories and industrial processes that depend on carefully controlled bacterial cultures.
In many industrial sectors, including food fermentation, enzyme, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics production, specific bacterial strains are essential for efficient and reproducible manufacturing. In these settings, bacteriophages pose a major risk, as they can selectively infect and eliminate production strains, leading to failed batches and significant economic losses. Phages may also appear in agriculture or wastewater treatment environments, where their presence can influence microbial populations, but in controlled bioprocesses their uncontrolled spread is particularly detrimental.
Despite their small size, bacteriophages are highly persistent and can easily spread within laboratory and industrial environments. They may be introduced through contaminated raw materials, inadequately disinfected equipment, surfaces, or even air. Once present, phages can rapidly propagate within bacterial cultures, often remaining undetected until the entire system collapses due to bacterial lysis. To prevent phage contamination, laboratories and factories rely on strict hygiene protocols involving sterilization and disinfection methods such as UV-C radiation, high temperature and pressure, ozone, and aggressive chemicals including potassium peroxymonosulfate (Virkon), ethanol, bleach, and hydrogen peroxide. These approaches typically aim to damage phage capsid proteins or nucleic acids, thereby inactivating the virus. However, bacteriophages can aggregate, increasing their resistance to harsh environmental conditions such as heat or chemical exposure. Moreover, phages are often more resilient than bacteria themselves. As a result, disinfection methods strong enough to eliminate phages frequently destroy the bacterial strains required for industrial processes. This lack of selectivity represents a critical limitation of existing anti-phage strategies and drives the search for safer, more effective solutions.
https://ichf.edu.pl/en/press/silent-enemies-smart-weapons-switching-off-contamination-by-nanoparticles
treść: dr Magdalena Osial
