The site specific delivery of anitbiotics utilizing nanoparticle to target Staphylococcus aureus and other gram positive related species for chronic skin infections

Ariyan Suleman

Key information

Authors:

Ariyan Suleman (Ariyan Suleman)

Supervisors:

Alexandre Brolo; Leonilde de Fátima Morais Moreira (Leonilde de Fátima Morais Moreira)

Published in

February 1, 2021

Abstract

Antibiotics resistance is a major concern globally as the incidence of bacterial infections are becoming harder to treat in patients. The primary delivery method for antibiotics since the introduction of penicillin in the 1930’s has been through oral tablets, intra-muscularly and intravenously. New developments in nanotechnology are being applied to combat bacteria uptake of resistance. Staphylococcus aureus is the main pathogen selected in this study due to an emergence of rapid resistance in the species, most notably MRSA. Silica nanoparticles (SiNP) were implemented to deliver drugs specifically to the site of infection in an in vitro skin model. Clindamycin HCl, along with Tetracycline HCl, as a comparison antibiotic, were the drug classes selected for this study. SiNP were incubated with a range of concentrations of the antibiotic of interest.. S. aureus was inoculated with 3D printed human fibroblast constructs to mimic an in vitro infection. Following 4 hours of incubation, the SiNP were then added to each well containing the skin constructs. This was then observed under fluorescence using live/dead analysis. The antibiotic loaded nanoparticles showed an enhanced antimicrobial activity in comparison to bare nanoparticles and free antibiotic in solution against gram-positive species. HPLC results showed that the use of SiNP allowed for similar dosage levels to be delivery reducing systemic effects of toxicity of antibiotics. These experimental results showed that treatment of S. aureus infection can be done with the use of Clindamycin HCl loaded SiNP as an effective way to target bacteria with longer duration and saturation time.