Antibacterial activity of doxycycline-loaded nanoparticles

Doxycycline is a tetracycline antibiotic with a potent antibacterial activity against a wide variety of bacteria. However, poor cellular penetration limits its use for the treatment of infectious disease caused by intracellular pathogens. One potential strategy to overcome this problem is the use of nanotechnology that can help to easily target the intracellular sites of infection. The antibacterial activity of these antibiotics is enhanced by encapsulating it in polymeric nanoparticles. In this study, we describe the improvement of the entrapment efficiency of doxycycline hydrochloride (doxycycline)-loaded PLGA:PCL nanoparticles up to 70% with variation of different formulation parameters such as polymer ratio, amount of drug loading (w/w), solvent selection, electrolyte addition, and pH alteration in the formulation. We have evaluated the efficacy of these nanoparticles over native doxycycline against a strain of Escherichia coli (DH5α) through growth inhibition and colony counting. The results indicate that doxycycline-loaded nanoparticles have superior effectiveness compared to native doxycycline against the above bacterial strain, resulting from the sustained release of doxycycline from nanoparticles. These results are encouraging for the use of these doxycycline-loaded nanoparticles for the treatment of infections caused by doxycycline-sensitive bacteria.