Development of Delivery System of Antimicrobial Peptides
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have attracted interest in this aspect of resistance to conventional antibiotics. Ace Therapeutics provides services for the development of delivery systems for AMPs, in addition to the discovery and identification of various peptides and their optimization for effective antimicrobial action.
Delivery Systems Play a Key Role in AMP-Based Superbug Therapies
Efficient and safe delivery of AMP plays a key role in the fight against drug-resistant bacterial infections. Appropriate delivery systems are expected to eliminate the limitations of toxicity and poor stability normally associated with natural AMP.
- Reduce chemical or biological degradation of AMP, thereby reducing adverse effects.
- Control the rate of AMP release by promoting biofilm permeation or by achieving co-localization with intracellular pathogens.
- Be designed to have proteolytic stability, thereby preventing rapid peptide degradation and loss of antimicrobial activity.
In conclusion, the use of advanced delivery tools is another key approach to improve the stability, toxicity, release profile and half-life of AMP.
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the antimicrobial peptide delivery system. (Nordström R and Malmsten M, 2017)
Development Services for AMPs Delivery System
We offer delivery system development services including delivery systems based on inorganic materials, metal-polymeric materials, self-assembly systems, liposome formulations, nanosystems, etc. Based on this research area, we provide easy access to innovative carriers that enable the design and development of the most effective targeted delivery systems for drugs, improving efficacy and reducing toxicity.
Development of delivery systems based on inorganic materials
The inorganic materials we use include metals, metal oxide nanoparticles, mesoporous silica particles, quantum dots, carbon-based nanomaterials, etc. Designing carriers mainly helps you to define well-defined pore sizes, prevent peptide degradation, aggregation, changes, and control AMP release, thus improving bioavailability and reducing toxicity.
Development of delivery systems based on liposomes
We exploit several advantages of liposomes, including higher solubility, ease of synthesis and high encapsulation efficiency, to develop AMP liposome formulations. For example, liposomes loaded with polymyxin B exhibit strong permeabilization in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As well as some bacteriocins and others formulated with liposomes to inhibit drug-resistant pathogens.
Development of delivery systems based on polymeric materials
We utilize polymeric materials to provide substantial opportunities for delivery systems for AMP therapies against superbugs. Polymeric materials include gels, fibers, multilayers, polymeric particles and conjugates that are compatible with a wide range of peptides and can be designed to show synergistic antimicrobial effects.
Development of delivery systems based on self-assembly systems
We can use self-assembly methods to create scaffolds that are selective and significantly antimicrobial against target drug-resistant bacteria, while maintaining biocompatibility with cells.
Delivery System Testing Services
- Preparation and in vitro characterization of delivery vehicles and full-scale testing of the activity of AMP-loaded formulations.
- Infection-specific in vitro and in vivo models for testing safety.
The addition of drug delivery technologies could help AMP to be delivered effectively across biological membranes and enhance antimicrobial activity at the site of infection. Many challenges remain to be addressed in this area of research, and Ace Therapeutics is committed to helping our customers address these issues to translate these early drug development discoveries into delivery-stabilized dosage forms.
Contact us for more support.
References
- Nordström R and Malmsten M. Delivery systems for antimicrobial peptides. Advances in colloid and interface science, 2017, 242: 17-34.
- Thakur A, et al. In pursuit of next-generation therapeutics: Antimicrobial peptides against superbugs, their sources, mechanism of action, nanotechnology-based delivery, and clinical applications. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2022.