Over the last year, our lab has been developing a policy on AI use. To do this, we did three main things: We read a lot of academic publications and tech news. We set up an #ai channel on our la...

An improved understanding of the impact of formulation of toothpaste tribology would be highly beneficial for tuning formulations to individual consum…

PhD Project - Improving the solvent tolerance of E. coli by understanding the rules of accumulation at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com

Watch the livestream of the Peregrine Falcons which have nested in Old Joe’s tower every year since 2013.

A livestream will show the nesting pair of peregrine falcons who have made their home at the University of Birmingham campus.

All cells need energy to perform their functions. This primer introduces energy metabolism in bacteria, with a focus on key pathways and examples from model organisms, while acknowledging that bacteri...

PhD Project - Improving the solvent tolerance of E. coli by understanding the rules of accumulation at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com

Localized delivery of antibiotics is a promising strategy that leads to transformative treatment pathways of bacterial biofilms and increases the effectiveness of their administration in contrast to traditional delivery methods requiring high antibiotic doses. Hydrophobic antibiotics have poor activity against bacterial biofilms due to their limited penetration and are particularly challenging to deliver. Nanoparticles are ideal drug delivery agents to achieve spatially controlled delivery, but commonly their designs are either soft or porous, which limits temporally triggered release, with the result that most of the antibiotic does not reach deeply into the biofilm. In this study, we present designs of nonporous silica nanoparticles that encapsulate a lipophilic antibiotic, rifampicin, with noncovalent interactions and enable controlled release triggered by Low-Frequency Ultrasound (LFUS). Staphylococcus aureus biofilms treated with the nonporous, core@shell, rifampicin-encapsulated nanoparticles, RIF⊂PhSiO2@SiO2, combined with LFUS, achieved 90% biofilm eradication, compared to 20% without ultrasound; treatment with free rifampicin and LFUS resulted only in a 10% reduction. Nanoparticle penetration into biofilm layers was visualized using fluorescent nanoparticles prepared with coencapsulation of the Nile red fluorophore, RIF+NR⊂PhSiO2@SiO2. Confocal fluorescence imaging of the biofilms demonstrated penetration of the nanoparticles throughout all the layers of the biofilm upon LFUS application, in sharp contrast to their presence in only the top few biofilm layers without LFUS. Scanning Electron Microscopy of the biofilms confirmed the presence of nanoparticles and the dual role of LFUS in promoting penetration and facilitating drug release by disrupting molecular interactions within the nanoparticle. This work introduces a design paradigm for nonporous nanoparticle agents combined with ultrasound, enabling both temporal and spatial control of drug release in bacterial biofilms. This will open transformative therapeutic approaches for effective localized delivery of drugs that have previously been challenging to deliver.

Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls

Four world-class teams awarded major BBSRC sLoLa grants to push the frontiers of discovery in microbiology, photosynthesis, gene regulation and quantum biology.

Dr Tim Overton

Apply now for the Research Fellow role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution

Solihull Symphony Orchestra is a lively and enthusiastic group of non-professional musicians who enjoy taking on the challenge of a diverse and varied repertoire. Our members span an age range from un...

A survival guide to the next four years.

Dr Michael Cox

Mechanical forces shape living matter from the macro- to the microscale as both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are force wielders and sensors. However, whereas such forces have been used to control ...

We demonstrate for the first time that deactivation of efflux pumps brings about changes to gross bacterial physiology and metabolism. Rather than simply being a response to noxious substances, efflux...