Abstract
Background
Bacterial endophthalmitis is an acute progressive visual threatening disease and one of the most important causes of blindness worldwide. Current treatments are unsatisfactory due to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria and the formation of biofilm.
Purpose
The aim of our research was to construct a novel nano-delivery system with better antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects.
Methods
This study developed a novel antibiotic nanoparticle delivery system (MXF@UiO-UBI-PEGTK), which is composed of (i) moxifloxacin (MXF)-loaded UiO-66 nanoparticle as the core, (ii) bacteria-targeting peptide ubiquicidin (UBI29-41) immobilized on UiO-66, and (iii) ROS-responsive poly (ethylene glycol)-thioketal (PEG-TK) as the surface shell. Then the important properties of the newly developed delivery system, including biocompatibility, toxicity, release percentage, thermal stability, ability of targeting bacteria, and synergistic antibacterial effects on bacterial biofilms and endophthalmitis, were evaluated.
Results
In vitro, MXF@UiO-UBI-PEGTK exhibited significant antibiotic effects including the excellent antibiofilm property against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at high levels of ROS. Moreover, MXF@UiO-UBI-PEGTK demonstrated outstanding efficacy in treating bacterial endophthalmitis in vivo.
Conclusion
This novel nanoparticle delivery system with ROS-responsive and bacteria-targeted properties promotes the precise and effective release of drugs and has significant potential for clinical application of treating bacterial endophthalmitis.
Data Sharing Statement
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgments
Jian Yu and Huan Xu are co-first authors for this study. This study was supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant/Award Numbers: 82070980, 82201226, 82101087).
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.