Nano-engineered lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles of fusidic acid: an investigative study on dermatokinetics profile and MRSA-infected burn wound model

Staphylococcus aureus(SA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) have been a major cause of morbidity in thermally injured patients. The skin barrier gets disrupted and loss of immunity further makes burn sites an easy target for bacterial colonization. In the current study, combined potential of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNs) with fusidic acid was explored as a promising strategy toward combating resistant bacteria in burn wound infection sites. The developed systems exhibited particle size (310.56 ± 5.22 nm), zeta potential (24.3 ± 4.18 mV) and entrapment efficiency (78.56 ± 3.56%) with a spherical shape. The hybrid nanoparticles were further gelled into carbopol and demonstrated better permeation (76.53 ± 1.55%) and retention characteristics (56.41 ± 4.67%) as compared to the conventional formulation. The topical delivery of FA into the skin layers by FA-LPHN gel was found to be significantly higher (p< 0.05) compared to FA-CC. The in vivo potential was further assessed in murine burn wound model inflicted with MRSA 33591 bacterium with the determination of parameters like bacterial burden, wound contraction, morphological and histopathological examination of wounds. The bacterial count decreased drastically in FA-LPHN gel group (5.22 log CFU/mL) on day 3 with significant difference in comparison to FA-CC. The wound size reduction in FA-LPHN gel (68.70 ± 3.65%) was higher as compared to FA-CC (73.30 ± 4.23%) and control groups (83.30 ± 4.40%) on day 5. The current study presents a safe and effective formulation strategy for the treatment of MRSA-infected burn wounds by providing moist environment and prevention from bacterial infection.