New weapon against superbugs

Published on Wednesday 18 November 2009 21:30

SCOTTISH scientists have developed a chemical to tackle infections such as MRSA by mimicking the body's ability to fight bacteria.

The new compound could be added to detergents or used as a coating for hospital equipment in efforts to fight superbugs and cut infections.

The researchers hope the chemical could be ready to use in products within two years.

The compound is able to trap and release the gas nitric oxide, also produced by our own immune systems to kill bugs.

Researchers have previously struggled to harness the gas because it disperses quickly. But the new compound is able to trap the gas, which is released when the compound gets wet.

The Scottish researchers, writing in the journal Acta Biomaterialia, are able to use the compound to kill off bacteria including Clostridium difficile.

The study was led by the University of Edinburgh, working with the University of St Andrews, Glasgow Caledonian University and UHI, the prospective University of the Highlands and Islands.

Another use for the compound could be to enable nitric oxide to be incorporated into dressings to kill bacteria so that they do not enter wounds.

Professor Adriano Rossi, from the University of Edinburgh, said: "We hope that in the future the material could be used in surface disinfectants."