Nanoparticles Versus Superbugs
By Jose Ruben Morones-Ramirez
Minuscule specks of silver and gold could offer new weapons in the fight against antibiotic-resistant microbes.
This Article From Issue
September-October 2026
Volume 114, Number 5
Page 290
The images of Escherichia coli that we were seeing from our transmission electron microscope were startling, almost disorienting, and inspiring. Under the microscope, these common infectious bacteria usually show up as neat, rod-shaped cells. But we had exposed this collection of microbes to minuscule particles of silver before taking their portrait, and it was clear that they had been profoundly damaged: Their outer membranes had collapsed inward, their cell walls were distorted, and their jellied cytoplasmic guts had spilled out. We were seeing a tiny catastrophe, a bacterial wipeout (see image below).
QUICK TAKE
- Silver nanoparticles are powerful antimicrobial agents that attack bacteria in multiple ways, enabling the particles to vanquish microbes that resist conventional drug treatments.
- Sustainable, bio-based coatings can enhance such nanoparticles’ effects, helping them prevent the formation of bacterial biofilms without causing environmental damage.
- Gold nanoparticles can deliver strands of DNA that silence the genes responsible for antibiotic resistance, making microbes more vulnerable to conventional drugs.
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