Magnetite Nanoparticles Functionalized with Therapeutic Agents for Enhanced ENT Antimicrobial Properties
Mara Caciandone,
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu,
Valentina Grumezescu,
Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă,
Ionuț Cosmin Ghica,
Bogdan Ștefan Vasile,
Ovidiu Oprea,
Ionela Cristina Nica,
Miruna Silvia Stan,
Alina Maria Holban,
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu,
Ion Anghel,
Alina Georgiana Anghel
Affiliations
Mara Caciandone
“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Adelina-Gabriela Niculescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Valentina Grumezescu
Lasers Department, National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 077125 Magurele, Romania
Alexandra Cătălina Bîrcă
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ionuț Cosmin Ghica
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Bogdan Ștefan Vasile
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ovidiu Oprea
Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ionela Cristina Nica
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Miruna Silvia Stan
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 050095 Bucharest, Romania
Alina Maria Holban
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 077206 Bucharest, Romania
Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Department of Science and Engineering of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
Ion Anghel
“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
Alina Georgiana Anghel
“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania
In the context of inefficient antibiotics, antibacterial alternatives are urgently needed to stop the increasing resistance rates in pathogens. This study reports the fabrication and characterization of four promising magnetite-based antibiotic delivery systems for ENT (ear, nose and throat) applications. Magnetite nanoparticles were functionalized with streptomycin and neomycin and some were entrapped in polymeric spheres. The obtained nanomaterials are stable, with spherical morphology, their size ranging from ~2.8 to ~4.7 nm for antibiotic-coated magnetite nanoparticles, and from submicron sizes up to several microns for polymer-coated magnetite–antibiotic composites. Cell viability and antimicrobial tests demonstrated their biocompatibility on human diploid cells and their antibacterial effect against Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) opportunistic bacteria. The presence of the polymeric coat proved an enhancement in biocompatibility and a slight reduction in the antimicrobial efficiency of the spheres. Our results support the idea that functional NPs and polymeric microsystems containing functional NPs could be tailored to achieve more biocompatibility or more antimicrobial effect, depending on the bioactive compounds they incorporate and their intended application.
