Antibiofilm effects of mucolytic drugs

Abstract

Mucolytic drugs have the ability to disrupt the structure of the matrix and destroy the formed bacterial biofilms. The most studied is N-acetylcysteine. Ciro Pérez-Giraldo et al. first demonstrated the antibiofilm activity of N-acetylcysteine in 1997, which showed that it has an inhibitory effect on bacterial growth and induces the dispersion of biofilms formed by bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis. N-acetylcysteine has been established to have a pronounced activity against biofilms formed by various gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and quinolone-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. N-acetylcysteine promotes penetration of penicillins, polymyxins, fluoroquinolones into the deepest layers of the biofilm, overcoming the antibiotic resistance of causative bacterial agents. N-acetylcysteine can be used as an antibiotic drug for chronic bacterial-associated diseases, in particular, episodes of respiratory infections in patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N-acetylcysteine is believed to be a drug with an excellent safety and efficacy profile in the treatment of diseases that are accompanied by the formation of bacterial biofilms. N-acetylcysteine and nanotechnological drugs, in which its molecules are combined with gallium or silver particles, are medicines that can become the drugs of choice that disperse biofilms and enhance the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy, especially for diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms.

Keywords

• bacterial biofilms
• dispersion
• n-acetylcysteine