Debdatta Das / Chemistry & Biochemistry / Faculty Mentor: He Dong
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) is one of the major contributors towards severe wound infections, especially in hospital environment significantly delaying healing processes. One of the major causes of antibiotic resistance observed in MRSA lies in its ability to form biofilm as it renders many specific advantages to the bacteria. Therefore, the development of novel therapeutic strategies in the arena of tissue wound healing and prevention of MRSA infection is of utmost importance. Peptide-based hydrogels often find therapeutic applications due to their responsiveness to physiologically relevant stimuli such as temperature, ionic environment and pH. This work delves into the potential use of a peptide-PEG hydrogel encapsulating an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) as an efficient anti-biofilm therapeutic agent against MRSA in vitro. The hydrogel under study showed better pH-responsiveness compared to previous research owing to the incorporation of a non-natural amino acid in the peptide sequence. The hydrogel was able to deliver the AMP under weakly acidic conditions and had a high killing efficiency against MRSA, with the benefit of controlled release of the AMP, thereby minimizing potential cytotoxicity. The pH of chronic wounds decrease as the tissue attempts to repair itself due to the production of lactic acid and additional factors which makes our study on the pH dependent release of AMP by the hydrogel clinically significant.
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