Virus-inspired surface-nanoengineered antimicrobial liposome: A potential system to simultaneously achieve high...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Antimicrobial Research
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Enveloped viruses like SARS-CoV-2 are efficient natural delivery systems.
• Conventional methods struggle to enhance lipopeptide activity and selectivity simultaneously.
• There is a need for novel antimicrobial strategies to combat resistant pathogens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a biomimetic strategy using lipopeptide-based mimics of viral architectures.
• To enhance antimicrobial efficacy and selectivity of lipopeptides.
• To create a novel drug delivery system for next-generation antimicrobials.

Main Methods:

• Constructed surface-nanoengineered antimicrobial liposomes (SNALs) with virus-like morphological features.
• Investigated SNALs' virus-like infection mechanism on bacterial cells.
• Evaluated antimicrobial activity, selectivity, and toxicity of SNALs against various pathogens.

Main Results:

• SNALs demonstrated virus-like infection, mediating high-efficiency and high-selectivity bacterial binding and invasion.
• Rapid plasma membrane fusion and localized lipopeptide release led to irreversible bacterial cell damage.
• SNALs showed broad-spectrum efficacy with low minimum inhibitory concentrations (1.6-6.3 μg mL⁻¹), >99% bactericidal efficiency within 2 hours, and >10-fold enhanced selectivity.
• Achieved 99.8% reduction in skin MRSA load after a single treatment with negligible toxicity.

Conclusions:

• The bioinspired SNAL design effectively mimics viral delivery systems for enhanced antimicrobial action.
• This strategy significantly improves lipopeptide therapeutic efficacy and selectivity.
• SNALs represent a promising platform for developing next-generation antimicrobials with reduced side effects.