Multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are a rapidly emerging threat to human health, causing thousands of deaths each year in the US alone. The emergence of new antibiotic-resistant bacteria is rapidly accelerating, with strains now resistant to all known antibiotics beginning to be observed. In addition to their immunity to antibiotics, pathogenic bacteria are commonly found in biofilms, making the resulting infections particularly difficult to address. We are developing nanoparticle catalysts designed to treat these infections. These ‘nanozymes’ use hydrophobic environments created using nanoparticle and polymer scaffolds to encapsulate transition metal catalysts (TMCs), These nanozyme platforms solublize the TMC and protect it from degradation in complex biological environments. We will discuss the use of nanozyme systems to image and treat bacterial threats, including biofilms and intracellular infections.

Imaging and treatment of multidrug-resistant bacteria and biofilms using bioorthogonal transition metal catalyst nanoparticle "nanozymes"

2019 Fall National Meeting

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