Clay fights MRSA, other 'superbugs' in wounds

Arizona State University (ASU) and Mayo Clinic researchers have found that one type of clay, Oregon blue clay, may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds, including treatment-resistant bacteria.

Oregon blue clay may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds. ]Image credit: Lynda Williams, ASU/NSF

The study is an important advance in understanding how clays, specifically blue clay from Oregon, have shown medicinal properties by attaching to pathogenic bacteria.

The scientists identified certain clays that kill bacteria, including many drug-resistant pathogens.

These clays also diminish populations of bacterial biofilms, as well as bacteria common in wounds that are more resistant to drugs. The results support efforts to design new antibacterial drugs using natural clays.

Biofilms occur when bacteria attach to surfaces and develop a film or protective coating, making them relatively resistant to antibiotics. The biofilms appear in two-thirds of the infections seen by health care providers.

This reduced iron-bearing clay can kill some strains of bacteria under the laboratory conditions used, including bacteria grown as biofilms, which can be particularly challenging to treat.

In laboratory tests, the researchers found that the clay has antibacterial effects against bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, including strains such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The clay suspension was effective against several bacteria in their biofilm states.

The research is preliminary, and the scientists caution that only one concentration of the clay suspension was tested. They also say that not all types of clay are beneficial.

The lab tests are a step in simulating the complex environment of an infected wound. More research is needed to identify and reproduce the properties of clays that are antibacterial, with the goal of synthesizing a consistent compound of the clay minerals under quality control. (National Science Foundation)

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