Bacteria are the constant companions of humans, but not all of them are friendly. Under normal conditions, the immune system is able to cope with most harmful microbes, but in some cases we need outside help. The material, which was created by a team of scientists from the UK and Canada, takes this help to the next level.
An article in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science and Engineering tells about the experiments of researchers from the University of Aston on alloying phosphate glass (it differs from the traditional one in that it is based on phosphorus oxide P2O5, not silicon oxide SiO2). By adding different concentrations of cobalt oxide to it, the scientists recorded an antibacterial and antifungal effect that was more powerful than that of antibiotics.
Note that this is not the first time that phosphate glass has attracted the attention of scientists. For example, recent experiments have shown that it can be used for dental fillings and prosthetics.
There are several types of bioactive glass, but for the above work, scientists have created a new "recipe" that included phosphate glass and impurities of cobalt. This mixture was fired in an oven at a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius.
After firing, the mixture was quickly cooled, which caused it to crystallize. As a result of such manipulations, a very fine powder was obtained.
Then the scientists added powder with different concentrations of cobalt to Petri dishes with harmful microbes. Experiments showed that the glass with the highest cobalt content completely destroyed the E. coli (Escherichia coli) colony in six hours, the yeast-causing fungus Candida albicans and 99 percent of the very dangerous Staphylococcus aureus colony - in about a day.
Later, researchers found that contact with metal ions destroys the cell membrane of pathogens, as a result of which they die. By the way, copper, zinc and silver also have a similar effect.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, about four million people are infected annually while being treated in medical institutions, and about 37 thousand of them die as a result of complications. The fact is that in hospitals, many strains of pathogens develop resistance to antibiotics, but bacteria will not be able to get used to bioglass.
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It is assumed that the material can be used for the manufacture of surgical instruments. This in turn makes them more secure.
It should be noted that a mixture of phosphate glass and cobalt has been known since the Middle Ages and was used to make stained glass windows. The metal gives the glass a deep blue color.