Title: Probiotic cellulose: A new biomaterial for antibiotic-free therapy of bacterial infections
Abstract:
A recent WHO report warns of the dramatic increase in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and concludes that this is one of the biggest threats to global health. In a scenario where antibiotics are no longer effective, common infections become much more dangerous and could kill once again.
A hopeful free-antibiotic alternative to address infections is the use of probiotics. We have developed an approach to develop a new biomaterial that combines the extraordinary properties of bacterial cellulose as a matrix plus the biomedical activity of probiotic bacteria. We interchange the cellulose-producing bacteria by the probiotics following an elegant strategy. The resulting probiotic cellulose exhibit antibacterial activity against relevant strains involved in most topical infections.
