In vitro antimicrobial activity of nanoconjugated vancomycin against drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The mounting problem of antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus has prompted renewed efforts toward the discovery of novel antimicrobial agents. The present study was aimed to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of nanoconjugated vancomycin against vancomycin sensitive and resistant S. aureus strains. Folic acid tagged chitosan nanoparticles are used as Trojan horse to deliver vancomycin into bacterial cells. In vitro antimicrobial activity of nanoconjugated vancomycin against VSSA and VRSA strains was determined by minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration, tolerance and disc agar diffusion test. Cell viability and biofilm formation was assessed as indicators of pathogenicity. To establish the possible antimicrobial mechanism of nanoconjugated vancomycin, the cell wall thickness was studied by TEM study. The result of the present study reveals that nano-sized vehicles enhance the transport of vancomycin across epithelial surfaces, and exhibits its efficient drug-action which has been understood from studies of MIC, MBC, DAD of chitosan derivative nanoparticle loaded with vancomycin. Tolerance values distinctly showed that vancomycin loaded into nano-conjugate is very effective and has strong bactericidal effect on VRSA. These findings strongly enhanced our understanding of the molecular mechanism of nanoconjugated vancomycin and provide additional rationale for application of antimicrobial therapeutic approaches for treatment of staphylococcal pathogenesis.