Exploring Novel Nanoparticle Treatments for C. difficile

When presented with a bacterial infection, medical professionals often prescribe antibiotics as a conventional method of treatment. However, overuse and misuse of antibiotics can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance, causing adverse effects to human health and making future infections increasingly difficult to treat. This is particularly evident in the bacterium Clostridium difficile, an opportunistic pathogen within the human GI tract that leads to antibiotic-resistant infection after antibiotics are used to treat another condition. This in vitro experiment seeks to answer how the treatment trajectory of C. difficile infection will be affected when utilizing inorganic nanoparticle therapy, in comparison to conventional methods of treatment using further antibiotics. Current methods of treatment for antibiotic resistance are insufficient and continue to exacerbate the cycle of antibiotic use. Because of the complexity of this issue, antibiotic resistance requires an interdisciplinary, One Health solution.TheOne Health Initiative connects the health of people with the health of animals and the environment we coexist in, drawing in professionals from these fields. By utilizing inorganic nanoparticles to target antibiotic strains of bacteria, we circumvent the use of further antibiotic treatment and implement technology that sits at the intersection of many disciplines within science. This experiment uses thesol-gel method to expose C. difficile to nanoparticles. Based on existing research, inorganic metal oxide nanoparticles are expected to be a more effective treatment for C. difficile than antibiotic alternatives.