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Nanotech paint kills superbugs

Nanotech paint kills superbugs

Microscopic view of Escherichia coli. (Credit: FDA)

E. coli (Credit: FDA)

Nanotechnology is key to the development of a new paint that reportedly has the ability to kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to a report from Manchester Metropolitan University researcher Lucia Caballero at a September 2008 meeting of the Society for General Microbiology. Caballero reports that, when exposed to fluorescent light or the sun’s ultraviolet rays, paints containing nanoparticles of titanium dioxide can kill potentially fatal bacteria. The particles do this, the researcher says, by absorbing the light and producing active molecules that “clean up the painted surfaces.” (more…)