Antibacterial hydrogel therapy for eradication of wound associated polymicrobial biofilms
Hanif Haidari A and Zlatko Kopecki A *A Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
Dr Hanif Haidari is a Research Associate at University of South Australia. His research interests include inorganic nanoparticles synthesis and applications against antibacterial resistance using latest in vitro and in vivo models. He also has strong interest in the development of smart drug-delivery systems for prevention of antimicrobial resistance and wound infection development. |
Dr Zlatko Kopecki is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of South Australia and a Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation Mid‐Career Fellow for Childhood Wound Infections. Dr Kopecki’s research is focussed on developing novel therapeutics for wound repair and working on understanding the mechanisms involved in wound healing, scar formation and fragile skin syndromes. He is also interested in integration of different approaches and biomaterials for the development of novel wound dressings and therapeutic approaches to improve healing and combat wound infection. |
Microbiology Australia 44(2) 104-108 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA23029
Submitted: 25 March 2023 Accepted: 20 April 2023 Published: 19 May 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
The recalcitrance of bacterial biofilms to current antimicrobials has presented a major cause of clinical recurrence of wound infections. These biofilm-associated infections are often present in polymicrobial nature associated with the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus creating a large heterogeneity that shares a common resistance to current antimicrobials making pathogen eradication extremely challenging. In this study, we overcome the intrinsic biofilm barriers by delivering ultrasmall-sized silver nanoparticles (AgNP) using a smart hydrogel system that allows slow and sustained release of silver ions mediating successful accumulation and penetration of bacterial biofilms. The antibiofilm efficacy of the AgNP hydrogel was assessed using ex vivo porcine wound polymicrobial biofilms. Treatment with AgNP hydrogel resulted in significant dispersion of early to mature biofilms, 2–5-log reduction of bacteria compared to untreated controls. This approach overcomes the enhanced tolerance and resistance of polymicrobial biofilms by using the combined benefits of smart delivery system and the antibiofilm properties of ultrasmall AgNPs to ensure biofilm complete destruction and elimination.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, biofilm, hydrogel drug delivery, polymicrobial infection, silver nanoparticles.
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