Enhancement of Antibiotic Activity With Nanoparticles

Project: Research project

Project Details

Description

The emergence of bacterial pathogens resistant to many or all conventional antibiotics is a crisis in healthcare. Since current economic models have dissuaded pharmaceutical companies from developing new antibiotics, it is likely that this problem will only worsen in the coming years. It is therefore critical that novel means to enhance the efficacy of currently available antibiotics be explored. We hypothesize that nanoparticle scaffolds decorated with antibiotics will have both increased efficacy and more favorable pharmacokinetic properties compared to conventionally administered antibiotics. We propose to conjugate antibiotics to nanoparticles to deliver spatially concentrated boluses of antibiotics directly to bacterial membranes. By concentrating antibiotics at sites of infection and limiting exposure elsewhere within the host, such a strategy may also limit adverse effects of antibiotics on host tissues. In this proposal, we will test the ability of antibiotic-coated nanoparticles to directly kill bacteria and characterize the pharmacokinetic properties of these nanoparticles in a rat model of infection. Successful completion of these experiments will lay the foundation for future studies in humans. By allowing treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, these approaches will advance two of the Northwestern Medicine visions: delivery of exceptional care and advancement of medical science and knowledge.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date1/1/1512/31/16

Funding

  • Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH Master #5 Exhibit B.7)

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