Antibacterial efficacy of antimicrobial peptide-functionalized hydrogel particles combined with vancomycin and oxacillin antibiotics
Journal article, 2024

The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), requires novel approaches to combat infections. Medical devices like implants and wound dressings are frequently used in conjunction with antibiotics, motivating the development of antibacterial biomaterials capable of exhibiting combined antibacterial effects with conventional antibiotics. This study explores the synergistic antibacterial effects of combining antimicrobial peptide (AMP) functionalized hydrogel particles with conventional antibiotics, vancomycin (VCM) and oxacillin (OXA), against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. The AMP employed, RRPRPRPRPWWWW-NH2, has previously demonstrated broad-spectrum activity and enhanced stability when attached to hydrogel substrates. Here, checkerboard assays revealed additive and synergistic interactions between the free AMP and both VCM and OXA against Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. Notably, the AMP-OXA combination displayed a significant synergistic effect against MRSA, with a 512-fold reduction in OXA's minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) when combined with free AMP. The observed synergism against MRSA was retained upon covalent AMP immobilization onto the hydrogel particles; however, at a lower rate with a 64-fold reduction in OXA MIC. Despite this, the OXA-AMP hydrogel particle combinations retained considerable synergistic potential against MRSA, a strain resistant to OXA, highlighting the potential of AMP-functionalized materials for enhancing antibiotic efficacy. These findings underscore the importance of developing antimicrobial biomaterials for future medical devices to fight biomaterial-associated infections and reverse antimicrobial resistance.

Oxacillin

Antimicrobial peptides

Hydrogel particles

Synergism

Vancomycin

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Author

Annija Stepulane

Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Anand Kumar Rajasekharan

Amferia AB

Martin Andersson

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research

Amferia AB

International Journal of Pharmaceutics

0378-5173 (ISSN) 1873-3476 (eISSN)

Vol. 664 124630

Subject Categories

Infectious Medicine

Microbiology

Microbiology in the medical area

DOI

10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124630

PubMed

39216651

More information

Latest update

9/13/2024