Silver nanoparticles can slow down the replication of Hepatitis B virus and can lower drug resistance, a recent University of Hong Kong (HKU) study has revealed.

Silver can be turned into very small particles through nanotechnology and becomes silver nanoparticles, which are currently used on AIDS patient to facilitate cure.

The three-year joint study conducted by the HKU's Department of Medicine and Department of Chemistry has found that silver nanoparticles can stick to Hepatitis B virus and slow down its replication.

In a laboratory test in the study, 90 percent of Hepatitis B virus stuck to silver nanoparticles after 60 minutes.

HKU's Department of Medicine professor George Lau Ka-kit explained that silver nanoparticles can stop Hepatitis B virus from self-replicating.

"When the virus is bound onto silver nanoparticles, it's hard for the virus to replicate itself," he said.

Silver nanoparticles have good binding properties because they have a large active surface, he said.

After the virus stops replication, the amount of virus can be cut in half in one day. In two days, there will be almost no virus lefts, he said.

"Silver nanoparticles can also prevent virus from entering human body cells," he said.

Lau also noted that the Heptatis B drug made of silver nanoparticles has a distinct advantage over conventional drugs - the virus is hardly resistant to silver nanoparticles due to their chemical properties, he said.

HKU's Department of Microbiology assistant professor Hui Chee-kin said they hope to conduct clinical trials of the drug in three to 5 years.

He estimated that in five to 10 years there will be many medical applications on silver nanoparticles.

The prevalence of Hepatitis B in Hong Kong and the mainland is eight percent higher than other regions.

In Hong Kong, 700,000 people or one-tenth of the population are Hepatitis B carriers.

(HK Edition 04/29/2008 page1)