A fairly recent development in the field of biomimicry has been the discovery that the red seaweed, Delisea pulchra can effectively avoid a wide range of bacterial infections without propagating any bacterial resistance. This article, written by Norbert Hoeller and Peter Steinberg, is published in the first issue of the fifth volume of BioInspired! It reviews the new mechanism by which we understand bacterial growth and replication as well as introduces a fairly significant discovery regarding the use of Delisea pulchra that may help treat bacterial infection.
Hoeller and Steinberg explain that scientists previously believed bacteria to be simple, free-floating cells whose rapid rate of reproduction led to infection, which then caused illness. However, it’s now known that in their natural environments, bacteria organize themselves into communities called “biofilms”. These biofilms form complex multi-cellular structures of cells, carbohydrates, DNA and proteins, and sometimes develop specific channels that can be used to transport nutrients and waste. In addition to having the ability to organize into complex structures, these bacteria can also detect and release chemical signals and in effect, communicate with each other, as the cells of a multi-cellular organism would do.
This finding has proven to be incredibly important, as it has preceded the discovery that biofilms can become more resistant to antibiotics than just free-floating bacteria alone. So, though this isn’t really the main point of the article, the magnitude of this discovery is, nonetheless, nothing short of incredible. For years we have thought of bacteria as these simple organisms that are very similar to viruses in the way that they mutate rapidly and, in regard to drug resistance, dangerously. But now that we know we’re no longer fighting off just bacteria, but living systems, with antibiotics, more solutions to treating infections can be researched.
This article pinpoints one way that we can gain control over these living systems. One of the article’s authors, Peter Steinberg, was on a scuba diving expedition when he discovered that a certain species of seaweed, Delisea pulchra, was oddly free of any fouling on its surface. After doing a little more research, Steinberg discovered this red seaweed had a way of preventing the creation of biofilms when bacteria landed on its surface. Over the past several years, this discovery has been adapted to the manufacturing world, specifically in the reduction of bacteria bio-film build-up on contact lenses. Additionally, solutions are being developed to control bio-films that cause corrosion of oil and gas pipelines, thereby reducing the need for biocides and mechanical cleaning of pipes.There is really no argument regarding the great value of this discovery. Not only can this organism control disease as well as reduce the need for toxic biocides, it can also control bacteria without killing them. Thus, if the bacteria aren’t dying, there is no occurrence of natural selection, thus less harmful mutations to deal with. Additionally, in regard to the ability of Delisea pulchra to control bacteria, less money would be spent on antibiotics as well as hospital visits for antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. So, in regard to healthcare, this biomimetic would be far more cost-effective than most all pharmaceuticals.
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