ORCID Profile
0000-0003-2742-7429
Current Organisation
University of South Australia
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-12-2022
DOI: 10.3390/NANO13010155
Abstract: Amphotericin B is an antifungal drug used for the treatment of invasive fungal infections. However, its clinical use is limited due to its serious side effects, such as renal and cardiovascular toxicity. Furthermore, hotericin B is administered in high doses due to its poor water solubility. Hence, it is necessary to develop an on-demand release strategy for the delivery of hotericin B to reduce cytotoxicity. The present report describes a novel encapsulation of hotericin B into lipase-sensitive polycaprolactone to form a nanocomposite. Nanocomposites were produced by the oil-in-water method and their physicochemical properties such as size, hydrodynamic diameter, drug loading, and zeta potential were determined. The in vitro release of hotericin B was characterized in the presence and absence of lipase. The antifungal activity of the nanocomposites was verified against lipase-secreting Candida albicans, and cytotoxicity was tested against primary human dermal fibroblasts. In the absence of lipase, the release of hotericin B from the nanocomposites was minimal. However, in the presence of lipase, an enzyme that is abundant at infection sites, a fungicidal concentration of hotericin B was released from the nanocomposites. The antifungal activity of the nanocomposites showed an enhanced effect against the lipase-secreting fungus, Candida albicans, in comparison to the free drug at the same concentration. Furthermore, nanoencapsulation significantly reduced hotericin B-related cytotoxicity compared to the free drug. The synthesized nanocomposites can serve as a potent carrier for the responsive delivery of hotericin B in antifungal applications.
Publisher: African Journals Online (AJOL)
Date: 17-01-2018
DOI: 10.4314/NJT.V37I1.16
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2022
Abstract: Ultrasmall cationic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have recently emerged as highly potent antimicrobial agents for the treatment of multidrug‐resistant bacteria and their biofilms. However, the clinical application of these cationic AgNPs is h ered by their poor stability and high reactivity in solution, leading to uncontrolled release of toxic silver ions. An ideal platform featuring broad‐spectrum antibacterial activity and high biocompatibility that prevents overexposure to silver ions, is therefore highly desirable. Herein, we explored a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic) acid (PLGA) as an effective carrier for the recently discovered polycationic silver nanoclusters (pAgNCs). These pAgNCs impregnated PLGA nanocomposites (pAgNCs@PLGA) were developed by water‐in‐oil‐in‐water (W 1 /O/W 2 ) emulsion method and characterized by various analytical techniques. Our experimental results reveal that pAgNCs@PLGA had spherical morphology with an average diameter of ∼188 nm and consists of multiple ultrasmall (∼2 nm) pAgNCs at the polymeric core. The minimum inhibitory concentration of pAgNCs for Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found to be 6.9 μg/mL. After impregnation within PLGA, the antimicrobial efficacy of our pAgNCs against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa remained consistent, while the nanocomposites were biocompatible at the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against both bacteria. The pAgNCs@PLGA nanocomposite developed in this work may present a path forward to bring these highly potent pAgNCs into medical practice.
No related grants have been discovered for Evelyn Osehontue Uroro.