Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Peptide-Loaded Cubosomes Functioning as an Antimicrobial Unit against Escherichia coli

2019; American Chemical Society; Volume: 11; Issue: 24 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1021/acsami.9b01826

1944-8252

Lukas Boge, Kathryn L. Browning, Randi Nordström, Mario Campana, Liv Sofia Elinor Damgaard, Josefin Seth Caous, Maja S. Hellsing, Lovisa Ringstad, Martin Andersson,

Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior

Dispersions of cubic liquid crystalline phases, also known as cubosomes, have shown great promise as delivery vehicles for a wide range of medicines. Due to their ordered structure, comprising alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains, cubosomes possess unique delivery properties and compatibility with both water-soluble and -insoluble drugs. However, the drug delivery mechanism and cubosome interaction with human cells and bacteria are still poorly understood. Herein, we reveal how cubosomes loaded with the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37, a system with high bacteria-killing effect, interact with the bacterial membrane and provide new insights into the eradication mechanism. Combining the advanced experimental techniques neutron reflectivity and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, a mechanistic drug delivery model for LL-37-loaded cubosomes on bacterial mimicking bilayers was constructed. Moreover, the cubosome interaction with Escherichia coli was directly visualized using super-resolution laser scanning microscopy and cryogenic electron tomography. We could conclude that cubosomes loaded with LL-37 adsorbed and distorted bacterial membranes, providing evidence that the peptide-loaded cubosomes function as an antimicrobial unit.