Multi-drug resistant bacteria infect more than 2 million people each year in the United States. These infections can often result into a chronic diseased state due to the formation of biofilms. Phytochemicals exhibit broad-spectrum activity against drug-resistant bacteria, however poor solubility of these phytochemicals in aqueous solution limits their therapeutic application. Here, we present polymer-stabilized phytochemical nanocomposites that exhibit broad-spectrum activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria and bacterial biofilms. These nanocomposites were stable in physiological condition and can be degraded in the presence of glutathione/esterase to prevent the vehicle accumulation. Furthermore, they show minimal toxicity towards mammalian cells and cannot trigger the development of drug resistance from bacteria in a serial passaging study, making these nanocomposites a promising solution to the biofilm infections and multi-drug resistant bacteria.

Biodegradable nanocomposite antimicrobials for the eradication of multidrug-resistant bacterial biofilms without accumulated resistance

256th National Meeting (2018)

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