New Delhi, June 22 (India Science Wire): In a significant breakthrough in the battle against antibiotic resistance, a research team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has synthesized a nanomaterial that mimics an enzyme and disintegrates the cell membranes of a range of disease-causing bacteria. The study, published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials, is a collaboration between researchers from the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry (IPC) and the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology (MCB). The discovery of antibiotics revolutionized the field of medicine. By the 1960s, many health experts even believed that the fight against infectious diseases was in its final stages. However, recent decades have seen a new challenge – the evolution of resistance to antibiotics in pathogenic bacteria. Antibiotics typically work by interfering with the cellular activities of the bacteria. Over many generations, thanks in large part to misuse and overuse of antibiotics, several bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics by producing their own enzymes that target the drugs. The cell membranes of all organisms, including bacteria, have two layers of lipids containing phosphate molecules. “Phospholipid is an essential component of the cell membrane,” explains Kapudeep Karmakar, a former PhD student at MCB and the joint first author on this paper along with Kritika Khulbe, former PhD Student at IPC. Therefore, the researchers decided to target these phospholipids with the help of nanomaterials that would break the bonds holding the membrane bilayer together. These nanomaterials are known as nanozymes. According to the authors, as the nanozymes directly target the chemical integrity of phospholipids to destroy the cell membrane, bacteria are less likely to be able to develop resistance against them. To develop this novel compound, the team synthesized a nanozyme based on cerium oxide using what is known as a chemical co-precipitation method.  In the next step, they carried out a reaction between cerium oxide and sodium polyacrylate in a basic solution to coat the nanoparticles with polymers. The polymer coating allows the nanozyme to disperse onto any surface or material and boosts its activity. The nanomaterial was then tested in the lab on several potentially pathogenic…