Host-Defense-Peptide-Mimicking ß-Peptide Polymer Acting as a Dual-Modal Antibacterial Agent by Interfering Quorum Sensing and Killing Individual Bacteria Simultaneously.

Host defense peptides (HDPs) are one of the potentially promising agents for infection diseases due to their broad spectrum and low resistance rate, but their clinical applications are limited by proteolytic instability, high-cost, and complicated synthesis process. Here, we report a host-defense-peptide-mimicking ß-peptide polymer that resists proteolysis to have enhanced the activity under physiological conditions, excellent antimicrobial efficiency even at high density of bacteria, and low cost for preparation. The ß-peptide polymer demonstrated quorum sensing (QS) interference and bactericidal effect against both bacterial communities and individual bacterium to simultaneously block bacterial communication and disrupt bacterial membranes. The hierarchical QS network was suppressed, and main QS signaling systems showed considerably down-regulated gene expression, resulting in excellent biofilm eradication and virulence reduction effects. The dual-modal antibacterial ability possessed excellent therapeutic effects in Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia, which could inhibit biofilm formation and exhibit better antibacterial and anti-inflammatory efficiency than clinically used antibiotics, levofloxacin. Furthermore, the ß-peptide polymer also showed excellent therapeutic effect Escherichia coli pyogenic liver abscess. Together, we believed that the ß-peptide polymer had a feasible clinical potential to treat bacterial infection diseases.

Wound microenvironment-responsive glucose consumption and hydrogen peroxide generation synergistic with azithromycin for diabetic wounds healing.

Rationale: Chronic wounds are one of the common complications of diabetes. Due to the physiological conditions of diabetic patients, these wounds are more susceptible to bacterial infections and the formation of bacterial biofilms, leading to the inefficiency of conventional antibiotic treatment. Methods: Here, hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSN) were used as the nanocarriers for co-delivery of azithromycin (AZM) and glucose oxidase (GOX), achieving a remarkable synergistic effect in chronic diabetic wounds. GOX possesses the catalytic ability to consume glucose and produce H2O2 in the diabetic wound area. The down-regulation of local glucose could effectively improve the chronic diabetic wound microenvironment. Meanwhile, the generated H2O2 effectively inhibits bacterial growth and eradicates bacterial biofilms with the synergism of antibiotics AZM. Results: In the bacteria-infected diabetic cutaneous wound models, the reduction of glucose, generation of H2O2, and release of AZM could effectively reduce the bacterial infection and promote the wounds healing. Moreover, there is no obvious toxicity behavior after the treatment. Conclusions: Therefore, the designed nanosystem could effectively accelerate the diabetic wound healing process by the amelioration of the hyperglycemia microenvironment and the eradication of bacterial biofilms around the wounds, making them promising candidates for clinical transformation.

Foaming Properties and Linear and Nonlinear Surface Dilatational Rheology of Sodium Caseinate, Tannin Acid, and Octenyl Succinate Starch Ternary Complex.

In this paper, the foaming and surface properties of sodium caseinate (SC), sodium caseinate/tannin acid (SC/TA), sodium caseinate/octenyl succinate starch (SC/OSA-starch), and sodium caseinate/tannin acid/octenyl succinate starch (SC/TA/OSA-starch) complex systems are described. First, foaming properties of different samples were compared at pH 6.0. The interface adsorption and linear surface dilatational rheological of different samples were characterized in the linear viscoelastic region to explore the relationship between macroscopic foaming properties and surface properties. At equal protein concentrations, the foamability and foam stability of the SC/TA/OSA-starch complex was markedly higher than that of the SC/TA complex. Meanwhile, the surface properties of the SC/TA/OSA-starch complex were also superior to those of the SC/TA complex. Finally, to investigate the nonlinear surface dilatational rheological behavior of the air/water interface stabilized by complex systems, the large-amplitude oscillatory dilatational rheology and Lissajous plots were studied. For the SC/TA/OSA-starch complex, the OSA-starch increases the degree of strain softening in extension, suggesting that the surface structure may change from a surface gel to a mixed phase of SC/TA patches and OSA-starch domains. These findings indicate that the complex formed between polyphenols, proteins, and polysaccharides could be used as a good alternative to understand and, consequently, improve the surface and foaming properties in food matrices.

Bulk, Foam, and Interfacial Properties of Tannic Acid/Sodium Caseinate Nanocomplexes.

For this work, the aim was to investigate the adsorption of the tannic acid (TA)/sodium caseinate (SC) nanocomplexes at the air/water interface and then to research its relationship with foam properties. First, nanocomplexes were prepared in a different mass ratio of TA and SC. The bulk behavior of nanocomplexes was evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), signal-intensifying fluorescence probe (ANS), etc. As the concentration of TA increased, the z-average siameter ( D z) of TA/SC nanocomplexes decreased gradually and the negative charge increased. Meanwhile, the surface hydrophobicity ( So) of the SC also decreased after the addition of TA. The interfacial properties were determined by dynamic surface tension and dilational rheology. The presence of polyphenols decreased the surface pressure (π) that resulted in poor foamability. However, the elastic ( Ed) component of the dilational modulus of films also increased as polyphenols concentration increased, which gave rise to admirable foam stability. The contribution of polyphenols to stabilize foam columns may be caused by interfacial interaction between proteins and polyphenols.