It’s one thing to have antibiotics. It’s even better if you can find clever new ways of delivering them so they do even more good to the patient. According to a report by the tireless Grace Wade of New Scientist, Chinese scientists have done exactly that.[1]

Junliang Zhu of Soochow University noticed that layers of mucus in our lung tissues are inhibiting the effective distribution of antibiotics. To overcome this they created nanoparticles from silica, which they coated with an antibiotic called ceftazidime, which they used to treat mice with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). So, what were the results? You had better look at Grace’s article, hadn’t you?

The reason we picked on this was not just because of the antibiotics trope. Widespread COPD is a classic result of having too many vehicles, particularly old fashioned diesel and petrol ones, which fill our air with particulate matter. It’s a major contributor to all kinds of health horrors. Just getting on top of one of them like this will be a major alleviation to millions. It’s so nice once again to see someone thinking outside of the box to do it.

[1]https://www.newscientist.com/article/2416072-inhalable-nanoparticles-could-help-treat-chronic-lung-disease/#:~:text=So%2C%20Junliang%20Zhu%20at%20Soochow%2

#antibiotics #nanoparticle #Grace Wade #Junliang Zhu #soochow university #COPD