Drug-free Enzyme-based bactericidal nanomotors against pathogenic bacteria

The low efficacy of current conventional treatments for bacterial infections increases mortality rates worldwide. To alleviate this global health problem, we propose drug-free enzyme- based nanomotors for the treatment of bacterial urinary-tract infections. We develop nanomotors consisting of mesopo...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Vilela, Diana, Blanco-Cabra, Núria, Eguskiza, Ander, Hortelao, Ana C., Torrents Serra, Eduard, Sánchez, Samuel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/184118
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/184118
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Infeccions per escheríchia coli
Biofilms
Nanotecnologia
Escherichia coli infections
Nanotechnology
Descripción
Sumario:The low efficacy of current conventional treatments for bacterial infections increases mortality rates worldwide. To alleviate this global health problem, we propose drug-free enzyme- based nanomotors for the treatment of bacterial urinary-tract infections. We develop nanomotors consisting of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) that were functionalized with either urease (U-MSNPs), lysozyme (L-MSNPs), or urease and lysozyme (M- MSNPs), and use them against nonpathogenic planktonic Escherichia coli. U-MSNPs exhibited the highest bactericidal activity due to biocatalysis of urea into NaHCO3 and NH3, which also propels U-MSNPs. In addition, U-MSNPs in concentrations above 200 μg/mL were capable of successfully reducing 60% of the biofilm biomass of a uropathogenic E. coli strain. This study thus provides a proof-of-concept, demonstrating that enzyme-based nanomotors are capable of fighting infectious diseases. This approach could potentially be extended to other kinds of diseases by selecting appropriate biomolecules.