The treatment of intracellular pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, represents a global health challenge. These microorganisms are able to survive within immune cells, exploiting them to evade host killing. In this work, we demonstrate that pH-sensitive PMPC25-PDPA70 polymeric vesicles (polymersomes) are ideal candidates for targeting macrophages containing viable intracellular bacteria. In particular, both in vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that polymersomes are taken-up by macrophages within minutes of injection. Antimicrobial-loaded nanovesicles were able to significantly reduce and, in certain conditions, eradicate the proliferation of Staphylococcus aureus, Mycobacterium bovis (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin - BCG), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Co-localisation image analyses confirmed that our polymeric nano-capsules accumulate within the same intracellular compartment as the pathogens, thus locally enhancing the final dose and effect.

Polymersomes for targeting and eradicating intracellular parasites

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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