IMR Press / FBL / Volume 26 / Issue 11 / DOI: 10.52586/5002
Open Access Original Research
Synergistic antimicrobial activity of a novel cationic micelle L/D2 and imipenem against multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
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1 Department of Breast Surgery, College of Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, 310000 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
2 Department of Gastroenterology, The 903 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, 310013 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
3 Department of Head, Neck & Thyroid Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, 310014 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
4 Department of Prenatal Diagnosis and Screening Center, Hangzhou Women’s Hospital (Hangzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital), 310008 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
5 Department of Radiology, The 903 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, 310013 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
6 Department of Intensive Care Unit, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, 310014 Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
*Correspondence: zhengyang173@163.com (Yang Zheng)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2021, 26(11), 977–987; https://doi.org/10.52586/5002
Submitted: 8 September 2021 | Revised: 16 October 2021 | Accepted: 19 October 2021 | Published: 30 November 2021
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by BRI.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

Background: The multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) has become one of the most important pathogens of nosocomial infection due to widespread use of broad spectrum antimicrobial drugs and immunosuppressor therapy. As polymyxins resistance emerges, developing novel effective antibacterial agents capable of overcoming multidrug resistance is urgently needed. Methods: In this study, biodegradable triblock copolymers of polyethylene glycol (PEG), guanidinium-functionalized polycarbonate and polylactide, PEG-PGC20-PLLA20 (L2) and PEG-PGC20-PDLA20 (D2), were utilized as antibacterial agents. Results: The copolymers self-assemble into micellar nanoparticles (L/D2), and exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against 20 clinically isolated multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains. L/D2 had more rapid killing kinetics than conventional antibiotics imipenem and ceftazidime, and exhibited potent anti-biofilm activity. Repeated use of L/D2 did not induce drug resistance. From scanning electron microscopy and nucleic acid release analyses, L/D2 showed membrane-lytic mechanism. We also demonstrated that L/D2 was synergistically active with imipenem against MDR A. baumannii strains. Additionally, strong synergistic antibacterial activity was also observed for the combined use of L/D2 and imipenem in a MDR A. baumannii abdominal infection mouse model. Conclusions: Therefore, the combination of L/D2 and imipenem might be an alternative option for the prevention of nosocomial infection caused by A. baumannii.

Keywords
Antimicrobial polymer
Micelle
Multidrug resistance
Acinetobacter baumannii
Synergistic antimicro-bial activity
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