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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are promising antibacterial agents in the fight against multidrug resistant pathogens. However, their application to skin infections is limited by the absence of a realizable topical delivery strategy. Herein, a hybrid hierarchical delivery system for topical delivery of AMPs is accomplished through the incorporation of AMPs into dendritic nanogels (DNGs) and their subsequent embedding into poloxamer gel. The high level of control over the crosslink density and the number of chosen functionalities makes DNGs ideal capsules with tunable loading capacity for DPK-060, a human kininogen-derived AMP. Once embedded into the poloxamer gel, DPK-060 encapsulated in DNGs displays a slower release rate compared to those entrapped directly in the gels. In vitro EpiDerm Skin Irritation Tests show good biocompatibility, while MIC and time-kill curves reveal the potency of the peptide toward Staphylococcus aureus. Anti-infection tests on ex vivo pig skin and in vivo mouse infection models demonstrate that formulations with 0.5% and 1% AMPs significantly inhibit the growth of S. aureus. Similar outcomes are observed for an in vivo mouse surgical site infection model. Importantly, when normalizing the bacteria inhibition to released/free DPK-060 at the wound site, all formulations display superior efficacy compared to DPK-060 in solution., QC 20230626

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are globally a major threat, leading to high mortality rates and increased economic burden. Novel treatment strategies are therefore urgently needed by healthcare providers to protect people. Biomaterials that have inherent antibacterial properties and do not require the use of antibiotics present an attractive and feasible avenue to achieve this goal. Herein, we demonstrate the effect of a new class of cationic hydrogels based on amino-functional hyperbranched dendritic-linear-dendritic copolymers (HBDLDs) exhibiting excellent antimicrobial activity toward a wide range of clinical Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including drug-resistant strains isolated from wounds. Intriguingly, the hydrogels can induce the expression of the antimicrobial peptides RNase 7 and psoriasin, promoting host-mediated bacterial killing in human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Moreover, treatment with the hydrogels decreased the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta, reactive nitrogen species (NO), and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in S. aureus-infected HaCaT cells, conjunctively resulting in reduced inflammation., QC 20211206

Microbial infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major threat to humans, associated with a high mortality and for the society increased economic burden. To address this, a series of cationic hydrogels based on amino-functional hyperbranched dendritic−linear−dendritic copolymers (HBDLDs) were formed easily within 1 min through interactions between the amino-terminated HBDLDs and di(N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) functionalized polyethylene glycol (PEG). The hydrogels exhibited excellent inherent antimicrobial activity towards a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative clinical bacteria including drug-resistant strains, isolated from wounds. In vitro cell infection assays showed that the hydrogels were able to significantly reduce cell infections caused by different strains, with the highest killing efficacy of 96% towards S. aureus. The hydrogels also inhibited the initiation of E. coli biofilm formation. Remarkably, the hydrogels induced the expression of the antimicrobial peptides, RNase 7 and psoriasin, in keratinocytes (HaCaT) which suggests that the hydrogels are likely able to promote host-mediated bacterial killing. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β, reactive nitrogen species (NO) and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in S. aureus-infected HaCaT cells were reduced after the treatment with the hydrogels. The hydrogels degraded within 24 h, showing great promise for treating skin infections and reducing inflammation., QC 20210531