Antibiotic Delivery Strategies to Treat Skin Infections When Innate Antimicrobial Defense Fails

Abstract

The epidermal skin barrier protects the body from a host of daily challenges, providing protection against mechanical insults and the absorption of chemicals and xenobiotics. In addition to the physical barrier, the epidermis also presents an innate defense against microbial overgrowth. This is achieved through the presence of a diverse collection of microorganisms on the skin (the “microbiota”) that maintain a delicate balance with the host and play a significant role in overall human health. When the skin is wounded, the local tissue with a compromised barrier can become colonized and ultimately infected if bacterial growth overcomes the host response. Wound infections present an immense burden in healthcare costs and decreased quality of life for patients, and treatment becomes increasingly important because of the negative impact that infection has on slowing the rate of wound healing. In this review, we discuss specific challenges of treating wound infections and the advances in drug delivery platforms and formulations that are under development to improve topical delivery of antimicrobial treatments.

Innate Antimicrobial Defense of Skin and Oral Mucosa

“…It is shown that the distinction between commensal and pathogenic microorganisms on the skin is not always so clear [71]. A novel approach is described for treating infections when the innate immunity of the skin fails [72].…”

A Novel Reduced Graphene Oxide-Attapulgite (RGO-ATP) Supported Fe2O3 Catalyst for Heterogeneous Fenton-like Oxidation of Ciprofloxacin: Degradation Mechanism and Pathway

“…Furthermore, the peak at 400.35 eV represents pyrroleN [64]. Figure 3d presents the spectrum of O1s with three main peaks: the peak at 532.5 eV indicates C=O on graphene, whereas the peaks at 533.5 eV and 534.0 eV represent C-O [5,65]. Figure 3e shows the spectrum of Fe2p with two main peaks: the satellite peak of Fe 2p3/2 at 715 eV demonstrates Fe (II) 2p3/2 and the satellite peak of 729 eV represents Fe 2p1/2 [65,66].…”

“…China is a large exporter of antibiotics, along with a major user of antibiotics [3,4]. The abuse of antibiotics in China is especially obvious as excessive use of antibiotics has stimulated the rapid emergence of drug-resistant bacteria (ARB) and drug-resistant genes (ARGs), thus reducing the therapeutic potential for human and animal pathogens [1,5]. Studies have shown that the consumption of antibiotics-containing meat, milk and other substances for a long period by humans results in a reduction in immune function.…”

Lactoferrin-Derived Peptides as a Control Strategy against Skinborne Staphylococcal Biofilms

“…Thus, biofilm control and eradication present several major challenges to topical formulations to prevent and alleviate skin diseases, using compounds targeting the bacterial extracellular matrix, regulatory signaling networks, and horizontal genetic transfer; in fact, the hallmark of the bacterial cells in biofilm state is the increased resistance to stresses including environmental factors, immune system response, disinfectants, and antibiotics [17].…”

“…Ongoing antibiofilm strategies for the treatment of staphylococcal skin diseases include low-amperage direct electrical current exposure [18], functionalized hydrogels and nanomaterials [17], plant extracts [19,20], bacterial metabolites [21], enzymes [22], and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs [23]). These latter are components of innate immunity system showing several advantages: (a) the broad spectrum of action against Gram-positive and negative bacteria, (b) a lower acquired resistance compared to antibiotics, (c) the synergistic interactions with other antimicrobials [23,24].…”