Antibacterial weapon - Gallium metal

An American research team explored an unconventional bacterial infection treatment strategy that uses gallium metal to disrupt bacterial metabolism and reduce bacterial survival. Researchers say the strategy may be a new treatment for bacterial infections.

Prior to the invention of antibiotics, metals such as copper and mercury were often used as antibacterial agents because they were toxic to a variety of bacteria. Researchers at the University of Washington and Johns Hopkins University published a paper in the journal that states that when metal gallium is absorbed by bacteria, it can replace iron, thereby destroying the iron metabolism of bacteria and reducing the survival rate of bacteria. As an antibacterial weapon, gallium can inhibit key iron-dependent bacterial enzymes and increase the sensitivity of bacteria to oxidants. In addition, gallium resistance develops slowly, its activity is synergistic with certain antibiotics, and gallium does not reduce the antibacterial activity of host macrophages.

Researchers point out that the current problem of bacterial resistance is becoming more and more serious, and the lack of new antibiotics has become one of the most serious challenges facing the medical community. Their new study proposes the possibility of treating human infections against iron metabolism of bacterial pathogens or other nutritional weaknesses, and this strategy is expected to become a new treatment for bacterial infections.

Product recommendation：Gallium

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