TTUHSC Scientist Awarded U.S. Patent to Battle Antibiotic Resistance Using Novel Nanoantibiotics

The Liang team hopes to develop and refine the nanoantibiotics for use in patients.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.8 million Americans contract antibiotic resistant bacterial infections each year, and approximately 35,000 of those patients do not survive their infection.

In his quest to find solutions to the antibiotic resistance issue, Hongjun (Henry) Liang, Ph.D., from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics, has focused his research on developing novel nanoparticles known as nanoantibiotics that target bacterial infections, especially those that are resistant to treatment with known antibiotics.

To date, Liang’s work has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications and, as of July 26, a U.S. patent titled, “Hydrophilic Nanostructured Membrane Active Antimicrobials With High Activity, Selectivity And Biodegradability,” that allows the Liang laboratory team to produce the novel nanoantibiotics.