Caio H N Barros1,2, Dishon W Hiebner1,3, Stephanie Fulaz1, Stefania Vitale1,4, Laura Quinn1, Eoin Casey5. 1. School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. 2. National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Dublin, Ireland. 3. School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. 4. Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ISIS, 8 allée Gaspard Monge, 67000, Strasbourg, France. 5. School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. eoin.casey@ucd.ie.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The ubiquitous nature of bacterial biofilms combined with the enhanced resistance towards antimicrobials has led to the development of an increasing number of strategies for biofilm eradication. Such strategies must take into account the existence of extracellular polymeric substances, which obstruct the diffusion of antibiofilm agents and assists in the maintenance of a well-defended microbial community. Within this context, nanoparticles have been studied for their drug delivery efficacy and easily customised surface. Nevertheless, there usually is a requirement for nanocarriers to be used in association with an antimicrobial agent; the intrinsically antimicrobial nanoparticles are most often made of metals or metal oxides, which is not ideal from ecological and biomedical perspectives. Based on this, the use of polymeric micelles as nanocarriers is appealing as they can be easily prepared using biodegradable organic materials. RESULTS: In the present work, micelles comprised of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and dextran are prepared and then functionalised with curcumin. The effect of the functionalisation in the micelle's physical properties was elucidated, and the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities were assessed for the prepared polymeric nanoparticles against Pseudomonas spp. cells and biofilms. It was found that the nanoparticles have good penetration into the biofilms, which resulted in enhanced antibacterial activity of the conjugated micelles when compared to free curcumin. Furthermore, the curcumin-functionalised micelles were efficient at disrupting mature biofilms and demonstrated antibacterial activity towards biofilm-embedded cells. CONCLUSION: Curcumin-functionalised poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-dextran micelles are novel nanostructures with an intrinsic antibacterial activity tested against two Pseudomonas spp. strains that have the potential to be further exploited to deliver a secondary bioactive molecule within its core.
BACKGROUND: The ubiquitous nature of bacterial biofilms combined with the enhanced resistance towards antimicrobials has led to the development of an increasing number of strategies for biofilm eradication. Such strategies must take into account the existence of extracellular polymeric substances, which obstruct the diffusion of antibiofilm agents and assists in the maintenance of a well-defended microbial community. Within this context, nanoparticles have been studied for their drug delivery efficacy and easily customised surface. Nevertheless, there usually is a requirement for nanocarriers to be used in association with an antimicrobial agent; the intrinsically antimicrobial nanoparticles are most often made of metals or metal oxides, which is not ideal from ecological and biomedical perspectives. Based on this, the use of polymeric micelles as nanocarriers is appealing as they can be easily prepared using biodegradable organic materials. RESULTS: In the present work, micelles comprised of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and dextran are prepared and then functionalised with curcumin. The effect of the functionalisation in the micelle's physical properties was elucidated, and the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities were assessed for the prepared polymeric nanoparticles against Pseudomonasspp. cells and biofilms. It was found that the nanoparticles have good penetration into the biofilms, which resulted in enhanced antibacterial activity of the conjugated micelles when compared to free curcumin. Furthermore, the curcumin-functionalised micelles were efficient at disrupting mature biofilms and demonstrated antibacterial activity towards biofilm-embedded cells. CONCLUSION:Curcumin-functionalised poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-dextran micelles are novel nanostructures with an intrinsic antibacterial activity tested against two Pseudomonasspp. strains that have the potential to be further exploited to deliver a secondary bioactive molecule within its core.
Authors: Paweł Kwiatkowski; Monika Sienkiewicz; Agata Pruss; Łukasz Łopusiewicz; Nikola Arszyńska; Iwona Wojciechowska-Koszko; Anna Kilanowicz; Barbara Kot; Barbara Dołęgowska Journal: Antibiotics (Basel) Date: 2022-01-24
Authors: Ana Figueiras; Cátia Domingues; Ivana Jarak; Ana Isabel Santos; Ana Parra; Alberto Pais; Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo; Angel Concheiro; Alexander Kabanov; Horacio Cabral; Francisco Veiga Journal: Pharmaceutics Date: 2022-08-15 Impact factor: 6.525