Teixeira Maria C, Carbone Claudia, Sousa Maria C, Espina Marta, Garcia Maria L, Sanchez-Lopez Elena, Souto Eliana B
Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Pólo das Ciências da Saúde, Azinhaga de Santa Comba, 3000-548 Coimbra, Portugal.
Laboratory of Drug Delivery Technology, Department of Drug Sciences, University of Catania, 95131 Catania, Italy.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2020 Mar 20;10(3):560. doi: 10.3390/nano10030560.
Microbial infections are still among the major public health concerns since several yeasts and fungi, and other pathogenic microorganisms, are responsible for continuous growth of infections and drug resistance against bacteria. Antimicrobial resistance rate is fostering the need to develop new strategies against drug-resistant superbugs. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small peptide-based molecules of 5-100 amino acids in length, with potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. They are part of the innate immune system, which can represent a minimal risk of resistance development. These characteristics contribute to the description of these molecules as promising new molecules in the development of new antimicrobial drugs. However, efforts in developing new medicines have not resulted in any decrease of drug resistance yet. Thus, a technological approach on improving existing drugs is gaining special interest. Nanomedicine provides easy access to innovative carriers, which ultimately enable the design and development of targeted delivery systems of the most efficient drugs with increased efficacy and reduced toxicity. Based on performance, successful experiments, and considerable market prospects, nanotechnology will undoubtedly lead a breakthrough in biomedical field also for infectious diseases, as there are several nanotechnological approaches that exhibit important roles in restoring antibiotic activity against resistant bacteria.
微生物感染仍然是主要的公共卫生问题之一,因为一些酵母、真菌和其他致病微生物导致感染持续增加以及细菌耐药性增强。抗菌耐药率促使人们需要制定应对耐药超级细菌的新策略。抗菌肽(AMPs)是长度为5至100个氨基酸的小分子肽类分子,具有强大的广谱抗菌特性。它们是先天免疫系统的一部分,产生耐药性的风险极小。这些特性使得这些分子成为开发新型抗菌药物的有前景的新分子。然而,开发新药的努力尚未使耐药性有所降低。因此,改进现有药物的技术方法正引起特别关注。纳米医学提供了便捷的创新载体途径,最终能够设计和开发出最有效药物的靶向递送系统,提高疗效并降低毒性。基于其性能、成功的实验和可观的市场前景,纳米技术无疑将在生物医学领域,包括传染病领域带来突破,因为有几种纳米技术方法在恢复抗生素对耐药细菌的活性方面发挥着重要作用。