Antibiotics are also ineffective against bacteria, what is the alternative? The connection and relationship of humans with germs, especially bacteria, is very old. It is a group of microscopic organisms that are found in a single cell or group of cells. It is common knowledge of bacteria that these organisms are found in volcanoes from volcanoes to the ice of Antarctica. Bacteria have different shapes, which is also the basis of the names of these bacteria. For example, round, rod-like spirals, etc. are the most common shapes.
Apart from these, bacteria in other forms are found in soil, water, and various organisms. These bacteria can be harmful or beneficial. Harmful bacteria cause disease in humans, animals, and plants, while beneficial bacteria play an important role in the digestive system, the production of certain vitamins, and even support the immune system.
Antibiotics are the most effective drugs used against disease-causing bacteria, which were discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Different types of antibiotics work by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria, but nowadays these drugs are becoming ineffective. The main reason for this is the overuse or misuse of these drugs, due to which the bacteria that spread various diseases have been able to render these antibiotics ineffective.
Not only are the bacteria resistant to these drugs, but they have changed their cellular systems to such an extent that they can render many antibiotics ineffective at the same time. This resistance of bacteria has become a growing concern for the treatment of various infections in humans and this threat has worried the medical field all over the world, as it limits the effectiveness of standard treatments and can lead to chronic diseases. , leading to increased healthcare costs and, in severe cases, deaths.
In fact, if any bacteria, virus or fungus interacts with any antibiotic or any other drug for a long period, these microorganisms develop the ability to survive in the presence of these drugs. These abilities are themselves the result of genetic mutations, which make bacteria able to break down or otherwise neutralize drugs or antibiotics. This is what we call antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is becoming a big problem in today's modern medical era. At first, these bacteria showed resistance to only one or two antibiotics, but today a combination of 10 to 15 antibiotics is ineffective in some strains of bacteria. First, multidrug-resistant, which is a bacterium that is sensitive to one of three drugs or antibiotics, appeared, then extensively drug-resistant, which is resistant to at least one of the combinations of antibiotics given. I am sensitive to one. Currently, pan-drug resistant, which is not sensitive to any of the antimicrobial agents, has emerged as the most dangerous bug. Research institutions around the world are busy trying to discover new molecules that can emerge as antimicrobial agents.
In such research, organic molecules or molecules obtained from animals, plants, fungi, and other microorganisms are being checked against different antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and data are being collected by increasing its effects through new methods. Snake venom and plant seeds are also being used in this regard. The search is on for toxins or enzymes in snake venom that can break down the bacteria or make holes in its cell to kill it and find a lead molecule. The same is being done with plant seed protein.
A similar research project was undertaken at the Center for Proteomics, in which the proteins from the dhatura seed and the proteins from the venom of a viper snake were tested against a particular bacteria that was resistant to the antimicrobial drug methicillin. Parts of snake venom were found to be active against this resistant bacteria. That is, they were killing the bacteria by eliminating its defense system. This increase was relatively less observed in protein obtained from Dhatura plant.
In addition, organic extracts or solutions obtained from plant leaves, stems or roots through various organic solvents have been consistently reported in similar studies. Thus, if any lead molecule is found, it has to be further researched to confirm that this molecule can prove to be a good alternative and then it is brought to the world market through pharmaceuticals.
The use of nanoparticles is also important in such research. If the nanoparticles made of silver metal are 10 nanometers in size, they are highly effective against bacteria, while nanoparticles with a size of 100 nanometers are lethal to bacteria as well as normal cells. There are. Antibiotic constructs based on nanoparticles have become a popular field of research in biomedical sciences. Much of this work is related to human diseases such as in the field of cancer treatment.
Apart from controlling other diseases, this research of nanochemistry has also been done on bacterial infections, especially bacterial infections that can cause serious diseases that can lead to death. For example, methicillin-resistant bacteria, known as Staphylococcus aureus, is a microorganism that causes problems such as surgical complications, persistent infections, and lack of available treatment. Not only this but as mentioned earlier, pan-drug-resistant bacteria that are not sensitive to any of the antibiotics have become the most dangerous bacteria.
Both metal nanoparticles and organic nanoparticles are being experimentally tested in different ways to tackle the problem of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In metals, gold, silver, copper, and others are being used, while in organics experiments have been done with liposome, lactic acid glycholic acid etc. This approach has also been tested by combining these two types of nanoparticles or by combining nanoparticles and antibiotics to test their effects on resistant bacteria.
From such an approach, positive results of experiments have been obtained that nanoparticles made of two metals, one of which is gold and the other metal is rhodium or ruthenium, then these particles can fight against gram-negative bacteria and treat wound infections. I have a remarkable ability. However, these metals in the form of individual nanoparticles fail to show their potential.
It is important to mention here that some tests are also done to detect resistance to antibiotics where the bacteria are grown on artificial media in a specific petri plate in the laboratory and then treated with different antibiotics to inhibit the growth of the bacteria or Growth retardation is a very common test that can be done in any diagnostic center or research institute laboratory. But now the problem is that the resistance process of bacteria has accelerated and in a very short time many of the infecting bacteria are becoming resistant to most of the antibiotics.
So now the only need is felt to pre-empt this resistance system of the bacteria and in this way, the drug and method used for treatment can be perfected by continuing with slight modifications. In this regard, preparations are now being made to use modern technology regularly, as the WHO Global TB Program in May 2023 validated the existing evidence on the use of targeted NGS solutions against antibiotics. The clinical use of kran was decided by the detection of resistant TB bacteria.
The TB bacterium has rapidly become resistant to all existing antibiotics and is an international concern in the field of infection. Therefore, modern techniques like Next Generation Sequencing or NGS are being used to identify such TB strains. On the one hand, the method of identification of resistant bacteria is being developed on modern lines, on the other hand, a new method of treatment is being sought by combining antibiotics with nanoparticles.
It is possible that some new molecule will soon appear as medicine and this antibiotic resistance will be overcome for a while, but it is now clear that even new and reformulated drugs are resistant to bacteria. You can gradually increase your resistance. Therefore, this time the specific use of the new drug and the infection for which it is being used should be monitored by genetic and phenotypic observation and changes in the same infecting bacteria, to find out the possibility of how long it will last. The bacteria are sensitive to this new drug and when it starts to develop resistance to it, however, nanoparticles have shown their potential as an alternative to antibiotics. Now it is up to the researchers to find out how to make them usable, to get rid of antibiotic resistance.