The ARGs are actually released by the superbug bacteria which breed in the treatment plants when they die. One to the methods to combat the spread of these bacteria and the genes is through the use of incredibly small microspheres.

These microspheres react to light and produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) which act to seek out and kill the bacteria. But this battle is a challenging one and could use a little help.

Enter, scientist Pedro Alvarez and his team or researchers at Rice University’s Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment.

With the aim of improving on the killing power and durability of the microspheres, Alvarez and his group developed an approach which coats each microsphere in a coating of graphene oxide.

The coating on the microspheres makes them more durable and reusable. Microspheres are removed from the treated water as they pass through filters to be used again.

However, microspheres with the coating can be used substantially more times than their counterparts without degradation of their light-reactive ability to produce ROS.

Not only did the coating improve the longevity of the microspheres. It also made them 300% more effective in terms of the amount of ROS they produce.

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