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Antibiotics
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Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections
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Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antibiofilm Strategies".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 8561

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vinit Raj

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
Interests: biomaterial; nanocarriers; polymers; antibiotic resistance; the effects of natural or synthetic molecules on fungi and bacteria; Staphylococcus aureus; Candida albicans
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biofilms, which are formed by bacteria and fungi within a complex biological system, are a major challenge to treating chronic microorganism-associated infections globally. Common fungal and bacterial infections are caused by Candida albicans, and Staphylococcus aureus exerts a large burden on the healthcare system. In several niches in the host, C. albicans coexists with various bacterial species, especially S. aureus. The formation of multispecies biofilms leads to increasing the chances of drug failure. Thus, nanocarriers are the perfect candidates for answering this challenge because they show desirable stability, improve the aqueous solubility of lipophilic molecules, show excellent biodegradability, enhance bioavailability and bioefficiency, and decrease toxicity. Therefore, nano-drug delivery has been established and developed as an alternative technique to improve the effectiveness of antifungals and antibiotics against biofilms. The effective penetration capabilities of nanocarriers inside the biofilm can help to improve the drug potency for treating several diseases, including biofilm-associated bacterial and fungal infections.

Dr. Vinit Raj
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus
  • nanocarriers
  • biofilm
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • natural and synthetic molecules
  • drug design
  • QSAR

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3512 KiB  
Article
Hydrophilic Composites of Chitosan with Almond Gum: Characterization and Mechanical, and Antimicrobial Activity for Compostable Food Packaging
by Raja Venkatesan, Surya Sekar, Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane, Vinit Raj and Seong-Cheol Kim
Antibiotics 2022, 11(11), 1502; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11111502 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1431
Abstract
To enhance the characteristics of the biocomposite film, solution cast was used to incorporate almond gum at different concentrations (10.0, 30.0, and 50.0%). The functional groups and morphology were determined using FTIR and SEM. The thermal property of chitosan and its composites materials [...] Read more.
To enhance the characteristics of the biocomposite film, solution cast was used to incorporate almond gum at different concentrations (10.0, 30.0, and 50.0%). The functional groups and morphology were determined using FTIR and SEM. The thermal property of chitosan and its composites materials were determined via TGA. In this study, the incorporation of almond gum into the chitosan matrix resulted in good mechanical strength, film thickness, and low barrier and solubility characteristics. Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of the composites films was also investigated. The WVTR and OTR values for the chitosan/almond gum (CSA) composite film values are 11.6 ± 1.62 (g/m2/day) and 32.9 ± 1.95 (cc/m2/24 h), respectively. The obtained composites show significantly improved antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) food-borne pathogenic bacteria. The results suggest that the CSA composites may serve as a promising candidate for antimicrobial food packaging materials. After an observation of the test results, it is inferred that the CSA composites bear good mechanical and antimicrobial activity and also show enhanced morphological characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections)
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14 pages, 3791 KiB  
Article
Thermoplastic Starch Composites Reinforced with Functionalized POSS: Fabrication, Characterization, and Evolution of Mechanical, Thermal and Biological Activities
by Raja Venkatesan, Ramkumar Vanaraj, Krishnapandi Alagumalai, Shakila Parveen Asrafali, Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane, Vinit Raj and Seong-Cheol Kim
Antibiotics 2022, 11(10), 1425; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11101425 - 17 Oct 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1693
Abstract
Rapid advancements in materials that offer the appropriate mechanical strength, barrier, and antimicrobial activity for food packaging are still confronted with significant challenges. In this study, a modest, environmentally friendly method was used to synthesize functionalized octakis(3-chloropropyl)octasilsesquioxane [fn-POSS] nanofiller. Composite films compared to [...] Read more.
Rapid advancements in materials that offer the appropriate mechanical strength, barrier, and antimicrobial activity for food packaging are still confronted with significant challenges. In this study, a modest, environmentally friendly method was used to synthesize functionalized octakis(3-chloropropyl)octasilsesquioxane [fn-POSS] nanofiller. Composite films compared to the neat thermoplastic starch (TS) film, show improved thermal and mechanical properties. Tensile strength results improved from 7.8 MPa to 28.1 MPa (TS + 5.0 wt.% fn-POSS) with fn-POSS loading (neat TS). The barrier characteristics of TS/fn-POSS composites were increased by fn-POSS by offering penetrant molecules with a twisting pathway. Also, the rates of O2 and H2O transmission were decreased by 50.0 cc/m2/day and 48.1 g/m2/day in TS/fn-POSS composites. Based on an examination of its antimicrobial activity, the fn-POSS blended TS (TSP-5.0) film exhibits a favorable zone of inhibition against the bacterial pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The TS/fn-POSS (TSP-5.0) film lost 78.4% of its weight after 28 days in natural soil. New plastic materials used for packaging, especially food packaging, are typically not biodegradable, so the TS composite with 5.0 wt.% fn-POSS is therefore of definite interest. The incorporation of fn-POSS with TS composites can improve their characteristics, boost the use of nanoparticles in food packaging, and promote studies on biodegradable composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections)
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12 pages, 3173 KiB  
Article
Grafted Chitosan-Hyaluronic Acid (CS-g-poly (MA-co-AN) HA) Complex Inhibits Fluconazole-Resistant Candida albicans Biofilm Formation
by Chaitany Jayprakash Raorane, Divya Shastri, Asrafali Shakila Parveen, Rajesh Haldhar, Vinit Raj and Seong-Cheol Kim
Antibiotics 2022, 11(7), 950; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11070950 - 15 Jul 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1663
Abstract
Fungal resistance that leads to the failure of drug therapy due to biofilm development is a major clinical challenge. Various polysaccharides have been used to control biofilm formation by drug-resistant fungi, and this study was undertaken to develop chitosan (CS)-modified materials and evaluate [...] Read more.
Fungal resistance that leads to the failure of drug therapy due to biofilm development is a major clinical challenge. Various polysaccharides have been used to control biofilm formation by drug-resistant fungi, and this study was undertaken to develop chitosan (CS)-modified materials and evaluate their abilities to inhibit Candida biofilm growth. CS was grafted with methacrylamide (MA) and acrylonitrile (AN) and, to improve its application characteristics further, was grafted with hyaluronic acid to produce CS-g-poly (MA-co-AN) HA complex. Grafting and complex formation were confirmed using spectroscopic techniques. CS-g-poly (MA-co-AN) HA was tested to investigate its ability to inhibit Candida albicans biofilm formation and showed significant antibiofilm activity at 200 µg/mL. Additionally, CS-g-poly (MA-co-AN) HA did not have any toxic effect on Caenorhabditis elegans. Thus, this study provides an innovative means of preventing microorganism-associated biofilm formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections)
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12 pages, 3901 KiB  
Article
Combating Bacterial Biofilm Formation in Urinary Catheter by Green Silver Nanoparticle
by Reham M. Goda, Ahmed M. El-Baz, Eman M. Khalaf, Nada K. Alharbi, Tarek A. Elkhooly and Mohamed M. Shohayeb
Antibiotics 2022, 11(4), 495; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11040495 - 08 Apr 2022
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3119
Abstract
Urinary catheters are commonly associated with urinary tract infections. This study aims to inhibit bacterial colonisation and biofilm of urinary tract catheters. Silicon catheter pieces were varnished with green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Pistacia lentiscus mastic to prevent bacterial colonisation. Pomegranate rind extract [...] Read more.
Urinary catheters are commonly associated with urinary tract infections. This study aims to inhibit bacterial colonisation and biofilm of urinary tract catheters. Silicon catheter pieces were varnished with green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Pistacia lentiscus mastic to prevent bacterial colonisation. Pomegranate rind extract was used to synthesize AgNPs. AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results obtained revealed that the size of most AgNPs ranged between 15–25 nm and they took crystallised metal and oxidised forms. The amounts of released silver ions from 1 cm pieces of catheters coated with AgNPs were estimated for five days and ranged between 10.82 and 4.8 µg. AgNPs coated catheters significantly inhibited the colonisation of catheters by antibiotic-resistant clinical Gram-positive (Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. AgNPs-varnish was more active against Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria. The significant inhibitory effect of coated catheters lasted for 72 h for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Varnishing catheters with AgNPs may help to prevent bacterial colonisation and infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanocarriers Strategies against Microorganisms and Their Associated Biofilm Infections)
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