New uses for old medicines to help control bacterial infections

After the human body has undergone surgery, it is often prone to chronic infection, especially in diabetic patients, the wound is more likely to be infected, how to control bacteria, in order to prevent it from "making waves", is a medical problem

"When bacteria 'clump', their outer layer will form an extracellular matrix membrane that envelops many bacteria, which is the biofilm

"After applying acne cream to the acne that grows on the face, it gets better for a while and then it recurs; Foot complications in diabetic patients, ulcers are difficult to heal after formation, which are all the intractable bacteria in the deep layers of the biofilm

However, when the team carried out research related to photodynamic therapy, it was found that photodynamic therapy can inhibit the metabolism of bacteria due to the consumption of oxygen, making deep refractory bacteria more sensitive

In the study, the team constructed a nanoreagent consisting of hyaluronic acid, the photosensitizer dihydroporphyrin and metronidazole for the treatment

"Dihydroporphyrin has been used in the treatment of tumors, and metronidazole is also a commonly used drug, which is a well-established therapeutic drug