The small device so called “Ichip” can allow experts in the future to supply antibiotic derived from wetlands, earth and wider. By using the new procedure for growing bacteria in the laboratory, experts from Northwestern University of Boston recently managed to get the first new antibiotic, after nearly 30 years. It was sequestered a sample of soil taken from the grassy meadows in Maine called teixobactin.
It could be used for treatment of chronic infections caused by gram – positive bacteria that have become resistant to the existing drugs. In addition, teixobactin till know hasn’t shown any signs that MRSA (golden staph resistant to methicillin, causing sepsis) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB causative) have developed resistance to it.
The key device which is called “insulating chip” or shortly Ichip, allow to be provided more bacterial colonies in comparison with the usual procedures.
It is a small device from firm plastic, long from about 7 and 2 inches. The researchers argue that this way will successfully breed bacteria from a number of different sources, including saliva, salt water, wastewater bioreactor. It is thought that in future bacteria could be derived from large ocean depths, and even from another planet.
