Nanoparticle Chicken Feed Keeps Birds Healthy

Feb. 29, 2008 -- Researchers at Clemson University have fed nanoparticles to chickens, eliminating deadly bacteria and making the chickens safer for human consumption.

The research could reduce the number of cases of food-borne diseases in the United States and one day treat the more than five million people in developing countries who die annually from diarrhea.

"Our ultimate goal is to use these nanoparticles as a treatment for children in underdeveloped countries," said Fred Stutzenberger, a retired professor of microbiology at Clemson who is publishing a review of the research next month in the journal Advances in Applied Microbiology.

The researchers made a microscopic ball of polystyrene, the same plastic used in CD cases. Threads hang off of the ball, and at the end of each one is a molecule that, to certain bacteria, looks like sugar. E. coli, salmonella, and other potentially deadly bacteria latch onto the molecule but can't process it, and essentially glue themselves to it.

Eventually dozens of nanoparticles attach themselves to the bacteria, making it very difficult for an infection to develop or spread.

"If we can block that first interaction [between bacteria and host]," said Jeremy Tzeng, a fellow researcher and microbiologist on the project, "then we can block an infection."

With the bacteria surrounded and unable to cause an infection, they pass harmlessly through the digestive system and out of the chicken.