Antibiotic Nanoparticles to Treat Respiratory Infection

Treating respiratory disease is difficult because antibiotics cannot penetrate through the multi-layered biological barriers and must therefore be given in large quantities to be effective, which can lead to further resistance. Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research in Saarbrücken, Germany, have developed nanoparticles to carry antibiotics across the biological barriers that can be effective in treating respiratory infections.

The researchers created nanoparticles from a biodegradable polymer oil, stabilizer, and the antibiotic clarithromycin. The package is about the size of a virus, allowing it to reach the target. The researchers tested these nanoparticles using Staphylococcus aureus as the target bacteria.

Using aerosol deposition, the researchers showed that the antibiotic successfully penetrated bacterial biofilms and reached the lung cells.

Dr Cristiane Carvalho-Wodarz, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research, said, “Using nanoparticles to deliver drugs to a local site of infection is a promising strategy for overcoming side effects, increasing treatment efficacy, and overcoming resistance.”

The nanoparticles are highly stable and do not provoke toxic effect, release the drug over a sustained period, and they can overcome cellular barriers, said Dr Cristiane.

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Source-Medindia