Infection protection

Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have developed new agents to fight MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections that are resistant to antibiotics.

The fluids are a class of ionic liquids that not only kill colonies of these dangerous microbes, they also prevent their growth.

The development of the antimicrobial agents was carried out by a team of eight researchers from the Queen’s University Ionic Liquid Laboratories (QUILL) Research Centre. The team was led by Brendan Gilmore, a lecturer in pharmaceutics at the School of Pharmacy, and Martyn Earle, the assistant director of QUILL.

Many types of bacteria, such as MRSA, exist in colonies that adhere to the surfaces of materials. The colonies often form coatings, known as biofilms, which protect them from antiseptics, disinfectants and antibiotics.

Earle said: ‘We have shown that, when pitted against the ionic liquids we developed and tested, biofilms offer little or no protection to MRSA, or to seven other infectious micro-organisms.’