United States: Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world get urinary tract infections (UTIs) every year. Certain groups, like women, older adults, and some veterans, are more likely to have recurring UTIs. These infections are usually treated with antibiotics but using them too often can cause the germs to become resistant, making the medicine less effective.
To address this problem of recurrent UTIs and antibiotic resistance we brought together microbiology and engineering to design a living material containing a certain type of E. coli bacteria.
Writing in the journal Biomaterials, the researchers say that they have found that the “good” bacteria discharged from this biomaterial outcompete the bad ones for food and shade, thereby slashing the number of pathogenic microorganisms.
We think future advancement of this technique could aid in the treatment of persistent UTIs which do not respond to antibiotic use.
They put bacteria into a bladder.
As reported by The Conversation, In the case of the microbes inhabiting people, nutrients are scanty; their distribution within the person’s anatomy is also dispersed, more or less. The other nutrients are available in competition with the other microorganisms and the host.
This means by reaching out for available nutrients on the surface on which bacteria are found, the friendly bacteria can either halt or reduce the multiplication of the bad bacteria. Emerging pathogens are unable to reach the disease threshold if harmful bacteria are deprived of the key nutrients they may need.
The process of getting beneficial bacteria to the bladder to help prevent UTIs is a difficult task though. First of all, it makes sense that helpful bacteria can naturally reside only in those who suffer from urinary retention – their bladder cannot be emptied fully. However, in these patients alone, the time that these bacteria can remain in the bladder also differs.
Present techniques to introduce bacteria into the bladder are painful involving catheterization and painful nose drops with additional catheterization. In any case, bacteria can be introduced into the urinary bladder successfully because urine will wash these microbes out because they are incapable of adhering to the walls of the bladder.
Biomaterials to treat UTIs.
Since, the beneficial bacteria were unable to attach to the bladder and remain viable there, we designed a biomaterial that would slowly release bacteria within the bladder environment.
Thus, our biomaterial consists of living E. coli cells encapsulated in the matrix of gel.