Its been a long time, we are having no cure for a number of different infections and diseases, for e.g. MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) which can cause life threatening infections. These infections are caused by a type of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics and cannot be cured by antibiotics given for other Staph. related infections, but recently the American Chemical Society brings up a treatment which helps to treat these infections by using Reactive Oxygen Species.
Reactive Oxygen Species(ROS) are produced as a byproduct of normal metabolism of oxygen and helps in cell signaling and homeostasis. These species are chemically reactive and can cause serious damage to the cells which are under stress.
Scientists used photosensitizers to kill these bacteria to eliminate different infections. Photosensitizers are one which become excited when they are illuminated with light. This potosensitization process helps to activate oxygen and convert them in ROS. After different experiments, it was shown that most of the photosensitizers are hydrophobic in nature which limited its activity in aqueous medium, therefore scientists decided to make hybrid photosensitizers which is now water dispersible.These hybrid photosensitizers contain nanoparticles with amphiphillic polymers which helps to entangle these photosensitizers. The use of metal provides two benefits, one is that it could trigger the synthesis of more Reactive Oxygen Species as well as it can concentrate these photosensitizers in a locality to hit these bacterial cells effectively which are the causes of infections while the skin cells remain unharmed. According to scientists, we can also use this nanoparticle technology to eradicate cancer cells in near future.