Mannosylated liposomes for bio-film targeting

Vesicular systems in general are investigated to achieve bacterial bio-film targeting as their architecture mimics bio-membranes in terms of structure and bio-behavior. This paper elaborates upon the role of the inherent characteristics of the carrier system and further envisages the role of anchored ligands in navigating the contents in the vicinity of bio-films. Vesicles in the present study were coated with hydrophobic derivatives of mannan (cholesteryl mannan and sialo-mannan). The prepared vesicles were characterized for size, shape, percentage entrapment and ligand binding specificity and results were compared with the uncoated versions. Using a set of in vitro and in vivo models, the bio-film targeting potential of plain and mannosylated liposomal formulations were compared. Results suggested that mannosylated vesicles could be effectively targeted to the model bacterial bio-films, compared with plain vesicles. Moreover, the sialo-mannan coated liposomes recorded superior targetability as reflected in the significantly higher percentage growth inhibition when compared with cholesteryl mannan coated liposomes. The engineered systems thus have the potential use for the delivery of anti-microbial agents to the bio-films.