Dynamics of silica nanoparticles in bacterial media

• Grant number: 24/22949-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: April 09, 2025
• End date: April 08, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Mateus Borba Cardoso
• Grantee: Caroline Ezequiel de Paulo da Silva
• Supervisor: Theyencheri Narayanan
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/02144-1 - Dynamics of silica nanoparticles in complex biological fluids through the XPCS technique, BP.PD

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global health challenge, driven by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, leading to infections that are increasingly difficult to treat and posing serious risks to public health. Nanotechnology's application in medicine, or nanomedicine, has transformed the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, offering significant potential to address various microbial infections, including AMR. In this context, understanding how nanoparticles (NPs) interact with bacteria-and how their diffusion is affected in bacterial environments-can advance the development of NP-based therapies and diagnostic tools for combating AMR. Synchrotron-based techniques provide powerful tools for characterizing the nano-bio interface between NPs and bacterial environments. Leveraging their high-resolution capabilities allows researchers to study the structural and dynamic aspects of NP-bacteria interactions, which can drive innovative applications against AMR. This BEPE project, to be conducted at the ID02 beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF, France), will use X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (XPCS) combined with Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) to investigate how the dynamics and structure of silica nanoparticles (SiO¿NPs), with varying diameters and functional groups, are influenced by different bacterial media, such as E. coli (gram-negative) and S. epidermidis (gram-positive). This project aims not only to enhance our understanding of using synchrotron techniques for these systems but also to contribute to global efforts in combating AMR.