Biodegradable Nanoparticles Kill Drug Resistant Gram-Positive Bacteria

A recent paper described the development of biodegradable nanoparticles capable of killing Gram-positive bacteria including MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

Investigators at the IBM Almaden Research Laboratory (San Jose, CA, USA) focused on types of nanoparticles that would be able to disrupt bacterial cell membranes. They reasoned that while it only requires one to two decades for microbes to develop resistance to traditional antibiotics that target a particular metabolic pathway inside the cell, drugs that compromise microbes' cell membranes are probably less likely to evoke resistance.

In the current study, they prepared polymer nanoparticles synthesized by metal-free organocatalytic ring-opening polymerization of functional cyclic carbonate. These nanoparticles were biodegradable and possessed a secondary structure that could insert into and disintegrate bacterial and fungal cell membranes.

Data obtained in collaboration with researchers at the Singapore Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (Singapore) was published in the April 3, 2011, online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry. Results showed that the nanoparticles disrupted microbial walls and membranes selectively and efficiently, thus inhibiting the growth of Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and fungi, without inducing significant hemolysis over a wide range of concentrations.

The biodegradable nanoparticles, which can be synthesized in large quantities and at low cost, represent a promising new class of antimicrobial drugs.

"We are trying to generate polymers that interact with microbes in a very different way than traditional antibiotics,” said contributing author Dr. James Hedrick, a materials scientist at the IBM Almaden Research Laboratory.

Related Links:
IBM Almaden Research Laboratory
Singapore Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology