Engineers at the University of California, San Diego have
invented a “nanosponge” capable of safely removing a broad class of dangerous
toxins from the bloodstream – including toxins produced by MRSA, E. coli,
poisonous snakes and bees. These nanosponges, which thus far have been studied
in mice, can neutralize “pore-forming toxins,” which destroy cells by poking
holes in their cell membranes. Unlike other anti-toxin platforms that need to
be custom synthesized for individual toxin type, the nanosponges can absorb
different pore-forming toxins regardless of their molecular structures. In a
study against alpha-haemolysin toxin from MRSA, pre-innoculation with
nanosponges enabled 89 percent of mice to survive lethal doses. Administering
nanosponges after the lethal dose led to 44 percent survival.