The slogan of the World Health Day in 2011 was "Antimicrobial resistance: no action today no cure tomorrow".1 Developing new antibiotics is mandatory but takes years. A short-term alternative is the development of novel strategies to deliver existing drugs in an optimized way. In this frame, the use of engineered nanocarriers is one of the most promising options. Our objectives in the frame of the ITN project Cyclonhit are to exploit nanotechnology and efficiently encapsulate antibiotics in nanocarriers to kill both intracellular and extracellular bacteria. We have focused on the drug ethionamide, a second-line drug used to treat infections from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.2 This small molecule, almost insoluble in water, is facing problems related to its delivery and has been chosen as a candidate for encapsulation in nanocarriers based on cyclodextrins. The objective is to i) protect the drugs toward degradation; ii) increase antibiotic bioavailability; iii) reduce drug toxic side effects; iv) increase patient compliance to the treatment and iv) reduce treatment duration and possibly costs. We have studied the binding of this drug to several cyclodextrin-based carriers, some of them labeled with a fluorophore, by means of spectroscopic techniques, confocal fluorescence microscopy and dynamic light scattering. We also evaluated co-encapsulation of ethionamide with other drugs or boosters in the same carrier system. The results obtained with these new carrier systems will be discussed.
New nanocarriers for the delivery of old antibiotics: spectroscopic study of the affinity of the drugs
Ilse Manet
2015
Abstract
The slogan of the World Health Day in 2011 was "Antimicrobial resistance: no action today no cure tomorrow".1 Developing new antibiotics is mandatory but takes years. A short-term alternative is the development of novel strategies to deliver existing drugs in an optimized way. In this frame, the use of engineered nanocarriers is one of the most promising options. Our objectives in the frame of the ITN project Cyclonhit are to exploit nanotechnology and efficiently encapsulate antibiotics in nanocarriers to kill both intracellular and extracellular bacteria. We have focused on the drug ethionamide, a second-line drug used to treat infections from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis.2 This small molecule, almost insoluble in water, is facing problems related to its delivery and has been chosen as a candidate for encapsulation in nanocarriers based on cyclodextrins. The objective is to i) protect the drugs toward degradation; ii) increase antibiotic bioavailability; iii) reduce drug toxic side effects; iv) increase patient compliance to the treatment and iv) reduce treatment duration and possibly costs. We have studied the binding of this drug to several cyclodextrin-based carriers, some of them labeled with a fluorophore, by means of spectroscopic techniques, confocal fluorescence microscopy and dynamic light scattering. We also evaluated co-encapsulation of ethionamide with other drugs or boosters in the same carrier system. The results obtained with these new carrier systems will be discussed.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
