TTUHSC scientist receives US patent to produce novel nanoantibiotics

TTUHSC scientist receives US patent to produce novel nanoantibiotics

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.8 million Americans contract antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections each year, and about 35,000 of those patients do not survive their infection.

In his search for solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance, Hongjun (Henry) Liang, Ph.D., of the Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), has focused his research on developing novel nanoparticles called nanoantibiotics that are effective against bacterial infections, particularly those that are resistant to treatment with known antibiotics.

To date, Liang's work has resulted in several peer-reviewed publications and, as of July 26, a U.S. patent titled "HydrophilicNanostructured Membrane Active Antimicrobials With High Activity, Selectivity And Biodegradability," which allows the Liang lab team to produce the novel nanoantibiotics.

Many antibiotics are already used in clinics, and many of them are quite effective for common infections. But we face this increasing challenge with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and other types of drug-resistant bacteria, the bacteria that turn common infections into life-threatening events.”

Hongjun (Henry) Liang, Ph.D., Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics

Liang hopes to establish a new generation of antibiotics that have three properties: They can kill bacteria without being toxic to healthy cells, they are biodegradable and environmentally degradable so they do not harm normal microbial communities in natural habitats, and they are less likely to cause resistance.

Previous research has shown that a molecule's ability to repel water (hydrophobicity) and its ability to attract and dissolve in water (hydrophilicity) has a significant impact on cells. Liang said the more hydrophobic a substance is, the more harmful the reaction it causes. However, there is no quantitative standard for how much hydrophobicity is acceptable, he added.

“Basically, if you increase the hydrophobicity, you can kill bacteria,” Liang said. “But it also kills healthy cells, and we don’t want that.”

In a study published in January 2022 byNature communicationThe Liang team developed novel hydrophilic nanoantibiotics that resembled tiny hairy beads composed of many hydrophilic polymer brushes grafted onto silica nanoparticles of different sizes. These synthetic compounds, which Liang's lab also makes, are designed to kill bacteria through membrane disruption, using a different type of membrane remodeling that damages bacterial membranes but leaves mammalian cells intact.

This study was the third published by the Liang laboratory on nanoantibiotics. The first and second papers explaining the design concept of hydrophilic nanoantibiotics were published by ACS Infectious Disease in 2017 and Biomacromolecules in 2020. Both were featured as cover stories in their respective magazines and highlighted by Chemical & Engineering News.

Armed with the three published studies and the patent, Liang said his team now focused on a two-pronged approach to developing and refining the nanoantibiotics for use in patients.

The first focus, which Liang described as the scientific and research side of his efforts, is pushing for clinical trials. To begin this process, the Liang lab will apply for additional federal grants that will support animal studies and eventually lead to clinical trials in human patients.

“This is more the research and academic part of our efforts,” Liang added.

The second pillar of Liang's approach is to work with Texas Tech University's Innovation Hub to support the commercialization of his lab's invention.

“By leveraging the research commercialization training opportunity in our Innovation Hub, we can hopefully identify interested parties in the pharmaceutical industry who are able or willing to collaborate with us,” Liang said. "One of our likely directions is to apply for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for pilot-scale production. That's our two-pronged approach."

Liang said the infection poses a major challenge for both frontline doctors and scientists. It's a challenge he wants to address by using innovation to develop a new generation of antibiotics.

“That is our goal and we are well on the way to achieving it,” said Liang. "I cannot say that this is the only way forward; of course there are many different ways forward. The novelty of our contribution is to address this challenge by developing antibiotics from a nanoengineering point of view. This is a very new way forward, which is not." well researched and we are proud of our progress so far.

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