BACTERIA-MEDIATED NANOMATERIALS
Bacteria as unique biofactories for the production of nanomaterials
WHAT IS THIS ?
Bacteria as biofactories of nanomaterials. It seems like a novel concept, but these prokaryotic organisms have been producing nanomaterials since the beginning of life as a way to survive in environments rich in toxic metallic ions.
The production of nanomaterials is, therefore, a detoxification process, a way to survive, in which bacteria take toxic ions that are poisoning their habitat and transform them in innocuous nanomaterials that cannot harm them.
WHY DO WE CARE ?
Nanomaterials produced by bacteria have a unique chemical identity which confers them with outstanding biomedical properties.
Due to their special physicochemical properties, they can be used as both selective and broad antibacterial agents showing effectivity towards some of the most dangerous pathogenS without the associated problems with traditional antibiotics
Besides, they can be used as powerful anticancer agents, rendering a wide range of applicability in different tumors.
Furthermore, the use of bacteria allows for an easy scale-up of the processes and a quick and straightforward production of materials that are available and ready to use within 24 hours after the synthesis.