These Nanobots Can Swim Around a Wound and Kill Bacteria

May 13, 2022

(Wired) – Picture a spherical particle of silica, which functions as a chassis. Sánchez has shown that you can dot its surface with a mess of special proteins that propel the particle through fluid, like little motors. His lab has experimented with different chassis, motors, and cargo. In research published in late April, they joined forces with antibiotics researchers. The team loaded silica nanobots with experimental antibiotics—including one derived from wasp venom—to treat infected wounds on mice. The nanobots, which were dropped onto one end of an infected wound, traveled through the skin to treat the entire area—the first report of nanobots killing bacteria in animals. (Read More)