Flame nanoparticle and device engineering against infections

Even though there is concentrated effort from nanotechnology research laboratories worldwide against cancer, there is only limited nano-related research against infections. This might be counter-intuitive due to the more deaths globally attributed to infections than cancer. Furthermore, because of the continuous use and abuse of antibiotics to fight infections, antimicrobial resistance in some bacterial strains (the so-called “superbugs”) has emerged. That constitutes the most serious public health threat today termed as “slowmotion catastrophe”. Therefore, there is an urgent societal need to provide innovative antimicrobial solutions as also highlighted by the WHO. Nanoscale materials offer advantages and solutions to this public health threat because they may exert antimicrobial action by multiple mechanisms rendering the emergence of antimicrobial resistance rather unlikely.

In this talk, I will highlight a few examples utilizing responsive nanomaterials against infections. This is explored using a nanomanufacturing process with proven scalability and reproducibility, flame aerosol technology, to assist rapid technology transfer to industry. We control the properties of the produced nanoparticles for specific drug delivery applications and show the unique advantages of the fractal-like nanoaggregates for protecting biologic drugs and delivering them in sites in vivo. We also employ flame direct nanoparticle deposition on substrates and combine nanoparticle production and functional layer deposition in a single-step with close attention to product nanoparticle properties and assembly of devices. For example, utilizing this technology, it is possible to develop nanomaterials as biosensors for physiological parameters (e.g. pH, H2O2) relevant to bacterial infections or for food safety and as nano-enabled coatings on medical devices to eradicate bacterial biofilms.