The number of infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria has increased in parallel with the global increase in the use of antibiotics. These infections can result in serious diseases, such as tuberculosis, which require intensive care treatment and extended hospitalisation. The portfolio of antibiotics currently available for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections is very limited and includes molecules that can induce severe side-effects or discomfort for patients.
For this reason, a European research team is currently developing innovative delivery systems for both known and novel antibiotics with the aim of contributing towards the development of more effective drugs. These innovative systems are based on nanotechnological approaches, and the targets of the NAREB project are MDR TB (multi-resistant tuberculosis) and MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureaus) infections.
SINTEF is contributing with the development and characterisation of antibiotic-loaded nanoparticles and their efficacy testing against MRSA.
Researchers participating in the EU project NAREB (Nanotherapeutics for Antibiotic Resistant Emerging Bacterial pathogens, Grant Agreement No. 604237) are assembling on Thursday and Friday at the Royal Garden in Trondheim to deliver presentations and discuss the progress made during the first 18 months of the project. The project will continue until January 2018. The Project Manager at SINTEF is Ruth Schmid. The project is being coordinated by the Institut Pasteur in France. The consortium brings together 15 partners and has a budget of EUR 13 million.
