Antimicrobial resistance is a leading threat to global health. Alternative therapeutics to combat the rise in drug-resistant strains of bacteria and fungi are thus needed, but the development of new classes of small molecule therapeutics has remained challenging. Here, we explore an orthogonal approach and address this issue by synthesising micro-scale, protein colloidal particles that possess potent antimicrobial properties. We describe an approach for forming silk-based microgels that contain selenium nanoparticles embedded within the protein scaffold. We demonstrate that these materials have both antibacterial and antifungal properties while, crucially, also remaining highly biocompatible with mammalian cell lines. By combing the nanoparticles with silk, the protein microgel is able to fulfill two critical functions; it protects the mammalian cells from the cytotoxic effects of the bare nanoparticles, while simultaneously serving as a carrier for microbial eradication. Furthermore, since the antimicrobial activity originates from physical contact, bacteria and fungi are unlikely to develop resistance to our hybrid biomaterials, which remains a critical issue with current antibiotic and antifungal treatments. Therefore, taken together, these results provide the basis for innovative antimicrobial materials that can target drug-resistant microbial infections.

中文翻译：

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硒丝微凝胶作为抗真菌和抗菌剂

抗生素耐药性是全球健康的主要威胁。因此，需要替代疗法来对抗细菌和真菌耐药菌株的增加，但开发新型小分子疗法仍然具有挑战性。在这里，我们探索了一种正交方法，并通过合成具有有效抗菌特性的微型蛋白质胶体颗粒来解决这个问题。我们描述了一种形成丝基微凝胶的方法，该微凝胶含有嵌入蛋白质支架内的硒纳米颗粒。我们证明这些材料具有抗菌和抗真菌特性，同时最重要的是，还与哺乳动物细胞系保持高度生物相容性。通过将纳米粒子与丝相结合，蛋白质微凝胶能够实现两个关键功能：它可以保护哺乳动物细胞免受裸纳米颗粒的细胞毒性作用，同时作为消灭微生物的载体。此外，由于抗菌活性源自物理接触，细菌和真菌不太可能对我们的混合生物材料产生耐药性，这仍然是当前抗生素和抗真菌治疗的一个关键问题。因此，总的来说，这些结果为针对耐药微生物感染的创新抗菌材料提供了基础。