PLGA-Cysteine from PolySciTech used in development of photoresponsive nanocarriers for tuberculosis treatment

 

Researchers at University of São Paulo used PLGA-cysteine (cat# AI025 https://akinainc.com/polyscitech/products/polyvivo/index.php?highlight=AI025#h) in development of rifampicin loaded and gold-nanorods containing particles for photoresponsive particles to deliver rifampicin directly to the lungs as part of tuberculosis therapy. This research holds promise to provide treatment of this lethal disease. Read more: de Barros Galvani, Pietra, Gabriela Maria Costa Ferreira, Valéria Maria de Oliveira Cardoso, Ualter Guilherme Cipriano, Angélica Maria Mazuera Zapata, Julia Mendonça Margatho, Paula Maria Pincela Lins et al. "Photoresponsive Nanocarriers for Potentiating Tuberculosis Therapy." ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2026). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11095-026-04110-7

“Drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) remain major challenges to effective treatment. Given that TB arises from complex bacterial survival mechanisms, addressing this multifactorial disease requires innovative and combinatorial therapeutic approaches. Although various strategies have been employed to overcome these issues, concerns regarding therapeutic efficacy persist due to the prolonged treatment duration and high toxicity. Here, we developed photoresponsive nanocarriers coencapsulating isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF), with or without gold nanorods (AuNRs), as a multifunctional platform for laser-assisted TB therapy. AuNRs were synthesized and functionalized with PLGA-SH to enable photothermal activation and integration into polymeric carriers. The resulting systems exhibited an average size of approximately 180 nm, zeta potentials around −28 mV, particle concentrations on the order of 1011 particles mL–1, as measured by nanoparticle tracking analysis, and average encapsulation efficiencies of 90% for both drugs. In vitro, photoactivated nanocarriers significantly reduced Mycobacterium tuberculosis burden in murine alveolar epithelial (MLE-15) cells and macrophages (BMDMs), as well as in human macrophages (THP-1), without inducing cytotoxicity. TB preclinical models demonstrated that laser-triggered nanocarriers significantly reduced pulmonary bacterial load in infected mice compared with untreated groups, even at low doses. These findings demonstrate that the formulation’s therapeutic efficacy depends on photothermal activation and support its potential as an adjuvant strategy for precision, light-assisted TB treatment, thereby reducing systemic exposure and minimizing toxicity.”

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