Patent Issued: Phage Mimicking Nanoparticles for Combating Antibiotic Resistance

We are excited to share that our team has been granted a new patent (U.S. Patent No. 12,161,725) for a new class of antibacterial agents: Phage Mimicking Nanoparticles.

The Problem: Traditional antibiotics are struggling to keep up with adaptive, multi-drug resistant “superbugs”. Our Solution: Instead of using traditional drugs, we looked to nature. Our technology mimics the physical structure of bacteriophages—viruses that naturally infect bacteria. By engineering a silica core studded with silver-coated gold nanospheres, we created a “bubble-wrap” structure that recreates the high surface area and specific density of protein turrets found on natural phage capsids.

These nanoparticles can be further customized with antimicrobial peptides or polycationic polymers to target specific infections without the toxicity issues often associated with other treatments.