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Abstract The failure to treat everyday bacterial infections is a current threat as pathogens are finding new ways to thwart antibiotics through mechanisms of resistance and intracellular refuge, thus rendering current antibiotic strategies ineffective. Cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) are providing a means to improve antibiotics that are already approved for use. Through coadministration and conjugation of antibiotics with CPPs, improved accumulation and selectivity with alternative and/or additional modes of action against infections have been observed. Herein, we review the recent progress of this antibiotic–cell‐penetrating peptide strategy in combatting sensitive and drug‐resistant pathogens. We take a closer look into the specific antibiotics that have been enhanced, and in some cases repurposed as broad‐spectrum drugs. Through the addition and conjugation of cell‐penetrating peptides to antibiotics, increased permeation across mammalian and/or bacterial membranes and a broader range in bacterial selectivity have been achieved.
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Open Droplet Microfluidics for Testing Multi-Drug Resistance and Antibiotic Resilience in Bacteria
New combinations of existing antibiotics are being investigated to combat bacterial resilience. This requires detection technologies with reasonable cost, accuracy, resolution, and throughput. Here, we present a multi -drug screening platform for bacterial cultures by combining droplet microfluidics, search algorithms, and imaging with a wide field of view. We remotely alter the chemical microenvironment around cells and test 12 combinations of resistant cell types and chemicals. Fluorescence intensity readouts allow us to infer bacterial resistance to specific antibiotics within 8 hours. The platform has potential to detect and identify parameters of bacterial resilience in cell cultures, biofilms, and microbial aggregates.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1556370
- PAR ID:
- 10334523
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Transducers
- Volume:
- 2021
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 988 to 991
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/Transducers50396.2021.9495667
