The overuse of antibiotics in medicine has led to concerns over management of wound infections where antibiotic-resistant bacteria are involved. Wound infections exhibit both acquired and biofilm-associated antibiotic resistance; innovative non-antibiotic therapeutic and preventive treatments are needed to limit emergence of conventional antimicrobial resistance and to address biofilm-associated resistance. Toward this goal, natural antibacterial clays have been identified that are effective at killing drug-resistant human pathogens in planktonic and biofilm states, in vitro. To move toward clinical testing of antibacterial clays, the present study was conducted to evaluate the topical application of a natural antibacterial clay to wounds in mice experimentally infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Five preliminary animal trials were conducted to test various methods of applying hydrated antibacterial clay to infected wounds. None of the experiments yielded significantly reduced MRSA infection in vivo, compared to controls. Several hypotheses were tested to explore the diminished clay antibacterial activity in vivo including: (1) pH and Eh of mineral-bacterial suspensions may differ in wound fluids compared to growth media; (2) antibacterial reactants may complex with components of the wound; (3) hydrated clays may dry out in the wound; and (4) limited dissolved oxygen may reduce Fenton reactions. Ancillary in vitro tests were performed to explore these hypotheses. Results indicate that the clay application to wounds may require enhanced oxidation and possibly a longer treatment regimen. The experimental results foster understanding of the natural clay–bacterial interactions in wounds and may improve designs for medicinal applications.

医学中抗生素的过度使用导致了对涉及抗生素耐药细菌的伤口感染管理的担忧。伤口感染表现出获得性和生物膜相关的抗生素耐药性；需要创新的非抗生素治疗和预防性治疗来限制传统抗菌素耐药性的出现并解决与生物膜相关的耐药性问题。为实现这一目标，已鉴定出天然抗菌粘土，可在体外有效杀死浮游和生物膜状态的耐药人类病原体。为了向抗菌粘土的临床试验迈进，本研究旨在评估天然抗菌粘土在实验性感染耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌的小鼠伤口上的局部应用(MRSA)。进行了五项初步动物试验，以测试将水合抗菌粘土应用于感染伤口的各种方法。与对照相比，没有一个实验在体内显着减少 MRSA 感染。测试了几种假设以探索粘土在体内的抗菌活性降低，包括：（1）与生长培养基相比，矿物细菌悬浮液的 pH 值和 Eh 在伤口液中可能不同；(2) 抗菌反应物可能与伤口成分复合；(3) 水合粘土可能在伤口中变干；(4) 有限的溶解氧可以减少芬顿反应。进行了辅助体外试验以探索这些假设。结果表明，将粘土涂抹在伤口上可能需要增强氧化作用，并且可能需要更长的治疗方案。