Lipidic nanoparticles for antimicrobial peptide delivery

Gram-negative bacteria have caused substantial multi-drug resistance (MDR) in both clinical and community settings. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), with low cytotoxicity and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, have been recognized as prominent candidates to overcome MDR infections. However, AMPs may suffer from instability and inactivation by the proteases in the organism, so that the administration route is limited to topical use. Lipidic nanoparticles (cubosomes) offer unique cubic structure to protect AMPs from harmful environment and controlled delivery to the target site. In this project, candidates will be able to prepare cubosomes and incorporate appropriate AMPs in cubosomes that target a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. The therapeutic efficacy will be evaluated by in vitro experiments, i.e., minimum inhibitory concentration and time-kill assay. Their interaction mechanisms will be studied using state-of-art neutron scattering techniques.