PLGA-PEG and PLGA-PEG-Mal from PolySciTech used in development of antimicrobial peptide decorated nanoparticles.

 

Bacterial infection often prevents and delays healing in wounds. Antimicrobial peptides can provide for treatment of infections, however these are quickly degraded and become inactive in vivo. One strategy to provide for the delivery of these peptides is to conjugate them onto the surface of nanoparticles. Researchers at Universidade do Porto and Universidade Católica do Porto (Portugal) used PLGA-PEG-Mal (Cat# AI110) and mPEG-PLGA (Cat# AK102) from PolySciTech Division of Akina, Inc. (www.polyscitech.com) to create nanoparticles functionalized with antimicrobial peptides for treatment of bacterial infections. This research holds promise to improve therapies against wound infections. Read more: Ramôa, António Miguel, Filipa Campos, Luís Moreira, Cátia Teixeira, Victoria Leiro, Paula Gomes, José das Neves, M. Cristina L. Martins, and Cláudia Monteiro. "Antimicrobial peptide-grafted PLGA-PEG nanoparticles to fight bacterial wound infections." Biomaterials Science (2023). https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/bm/d2bm01127a

“Abstract: Wound infection treatment with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is still not a reality, due to the loss of activity in vivo. Unlike the conventional strategy of encapsulating AMPs on nanoparticles (NPs) leaving activity dependent on the release profile, this work explores AMP grafting to poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide)-polyethylene glycol NPs (PLGA-PEG NPs), whereby AMP exposition, infection targeting and immediate action are promoted. NPs are functionalized with MSI-78(4–20), an equipotent and more selective derivative of MSI-78, grafted through a thiol-maleimide (Mal) Michael addition. NPs with different ratios of PLGA-PEG/PLGA-PEG-Mal are produced and characterized, with 40%PLGA-PEG-Mal presenting the best colloidal properties and higher amounts of AMP grafted as shown by surface charge (+8.6 ± 1.8 mV) and AMP quantification (326 μg mL−1, corresponding to 16.3 μg of AMP per mg of polymer). NPs maintain the activity of the free AMP with a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 8–16 μg mL−1 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 16–32 μg mL−1 against Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, AMP grafting accelerates killing kinetics, from 1–2 h to 15 min for P. aeruginosa and from 6–8 h to 0.5–1 h for S. aureus. NP activity in a simulated wound fluid is maintained for S. aureus and decreases slightly for P. aeruginosa. Furthermore, NPs do not demonstrate signs of cytotoxicity at MIC concentrations. Overall, this promising formulation helps unleash the full potential of AMPs for the management of wound infections.”

See Video: https://youtu.be/_x6MYzpzmVU