The Solution to Antibiotic Overuse – Zoono Antimicrobial Technology
Antibiotics are a wonderful and amazing form of modern medicine that has saved many lives by killing bacterial infections or stopping the growth of bacteria. The concept is simple – a body that has a bacterial infection is prescribed an antibiotic that kills it and prevents it from penetrating deeper in the body. Before antibiotics, there were only two choices: wait and hope that the infection improves on its own, or cut off the infection from the body before it spreads. Both of those options are not very good ones, and that makes the discovery of antibiotics in 1928 a major breakthrough in science. In modern times, chances are you have gone through at least one antibiotic treatment in your lifetime.
Modern medicine has saved many lives and we can now live without fear of the harmful effects of bacterial infections anymore, right? Wrong. Evolution is a force of nature that instills in all species a will to survive, even amidst treacherous and toxic environments. Thus, bacteria is mutating and growing resistant to certain strands of antibiotics in our bodies. The idea of mutating bacteria is a frightening one that will eventually lead to this outcome: a superbug that one day is resistant to all forms of antibiotics. A very contagious superbug that is resistant to antibiotics could be fatal for many lives. The thought is very frightening, and one that scientists have been working very hard to prevent.
How does one fight against a superbug that is immune to antibiotics? Are we destined to return to the pre-antibiotic days where a fairly simple bacterial infection is life-threatening? Maybe not after all! What better way to fight bacteria than with nature herself, who after all was the source of the discovery of antibiotics in the first place?
Killing Bacteria with Physics
Don’t worry, we are not going to get mathematical on you, but we are going to take you back about a decade and a half. Elena Ivanova, a researcher from Swinburg University in Melbourne Australia, had been studying the concept of using an ultra smooth surface as an antibacterial agent that simply wouldn’t allow bacteria to gain traction and cause it to slide right off. In unrelated research, scientists Greg and Jolanta Watson discovered that cicada wings did not decompose with the rest of the body after it’s death, and they took many samples of cicada and dragonfly wings to study. In 2004, Ivanova reached out to Greg Watson for help with a book she was writing about antibacterial surfaces. Greg suggested that Ivanova should take a look at his cicada wings and sent her some samples from his laboratory. Did this common insect wing contain a key element of antibacterial material that came naturally to them? Close, but not quite.
She tested this theory with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a human pathogen that they placed onto the cicada wing. Under a microscope, they discovered that the nanoscale pillars of the cicada wings had punctured the walls of the bacteria and caused it’s insides to spill out and lead to a quick demise. This was the first reported instance of a naturally existing surface exhibiting antibacterial properties. Unfortunately, the cicada wing was only able to kill one of the two main types of bacteria. Pseudomonas aeruginosa have very thin cell walls that are easily punctured. Other bacteria, like the kind that cause pneumonia infections, Streptococcus pneumonia, have a much stronger cell wall that was able to withstand the antibacterial surface of the cicada wing. While this was only a partial success, this led the way to new discoveries.
One Giant Leap for Mankind
Now that the concept of killing microorganisms with unlivable surfaces had proven partially true, the search for true antimicrobial surfaces had begun. As is the case many times with science, Greg and Jolanta’s endeavors led them down many dead ends, but perseverance and persistence eventually led them to a lab bench one afternoon, where they were carefully examining a dead gecko that they discovered that day on their lunch break. When they examined the surface of the gecko’s skin underneath a microscope, they found a similar quality to that of the cicada wings, a carpet of tiny pillars that were pointed at the tip. When testing the surface with bacteria, they discovered that the gecko skin was lethal for many kinds of pathogens by puncturing their cell walls with its many nanoscale, pointed pillars.
They found that even when the environment was perfect for bacterial growth, the surface of the gecko skin was simply unlivable for bacteria. This was the case time and time again, which led to new ideas and an advancement in antimicrobial technologies.
Zoono Ends the Reliance on Antibiotics
Scientists soon started creating synthetic antimicrobial material. Similar to that of a gecko skin, an antimicrobial surface repels bacteria by being unlivable. This is where Zoono Antimicrobial Technology comes into play. Zoono provides a water-based, nontoxic, and long-lasting antimicrobial protection against bacterial growth. Unlike other antibacterial disinfectants that lose potency upon drying, Zoono goes to work after it dries by creating a surface much like that of a gecko skin. Once Zoono dries, it will stay effective for 30 days on a surface and 24 hours on skin. Zoono physically kills the bacteria by creating an unlivable surface!
Unlike antibiotics, Zoono does not discriminate between pathogens, and if the cell can be punctured, Zoono will do so. Bacteria is learning to build up a tolerance against the poison that antibiotics supply, but they will not be able to build up a tolerance against being physically impaled. This makes Zoono Technology an important and effective protection against pathogens that does not promote mutation.
Paranoid about touching door handles and commonly used public items like subway handrails or elevator buttons? Spray or wipe your hands with Zoono’s Hand Sanitizer and the bacteria will not be able to survive long enough to spread or cause any harm. Zoono has proven to be effective against a wide variety of microorganisms that could lead to sickness and infection to the human body. For more information and a complete list of pathogens that can’t survive Zoono, visit our Safety & Effectiveness page.
