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A "Plug-And-Display" Nanoparticle Vaccine Platform Based on Outer Membrane Vesicles Displaying SARS-CoV-2 Receptor-Binding Domain
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Phage-mimicking antibacterial core-shell nanoparticles
Juliane Hopf1, Margo Waters2, Veronica Kalwajtys3
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame Notre Dame IN USA.
Nanoscale Advances
|September 22, 2022
Summary
Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat. Researchers developed novel phage-mimicking nanoparticles (ANPs) that effectively inhibit and kill resistant bacteria without antibiotics, showing promise for new treatments.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Antimicrobial Research
Background:
- Rising rates of nosocomial infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria necessitate novel therapeutic strategies.
- Limited discovery of new antibiotic classes exacerbates the challenge of combating resistant pathogens.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an antibiotic-free antibacterial system inspired by bacteriophages.
- To synthesize and characterize phage-mimicking nanoparticles (ANPs) for combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized ANPs with a silica core, anisotropic silver-coated gold nanospheres, mimicking bacteriophage structure (up to 88% similarity to *Microviridae*).
- Evaluated ANP bactericidal efficacy against *Staphylococcus aureus*, *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*, and *Enterococcus faecalis*.
- Assessed ANP biocompatibility with human skin keratinocytes.
Main Results:
- ANPs inhibited bacterial growth by 21%–90% and delayed growth by up to 5 hours across tested pathogens.
- Gram-positive bacteria demonstrated higher sensitivity to ANP treatment.
- No significant cytotoxic effects were observed in human skin cells.
Conclusions:
- Phage-mimicking ANPs present a promising, antibiotic-free alternative for combating resistant bacteria.
- These ANPs show potential for use in treating nosocomial infections and may be suitable for combination therapies.
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