Cationic polymer contributes to broaden the spectrum of vancomycin activity achieving eradication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

CORTI, MELISA BELÉN; CAMPAGNO, LUCIANA PAULA; ROMERO, VERÓNICA L; GUTIERREZ, SILVINA; ALOVERO, FABIANA L.

ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022 vol. 204 p. 1 - 1

0302-8933

ancomycin (VAN) is unable to penetrate the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and reach thetarget site. One approach to overcome this limitation is to associate it with compounds withpermeabilizing or antimicrobial properties. EudragitE100® (Eu) is a cationic polymer insufficientlycharacterized for its potential antimicrobial action. Eu-VAN combinations were characterized, theantimicrobial efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated and previous studies on the effects of Eu on bacterial envelopes were extended. Time-kill assays showed eradication of P.aeruginosa within 3-6 h exposure to Eu-VAN, whilst VAN was ineffective. Eu showed regrowth in 24 h and delayed colony pigmentation. Although permeabilization of bacterial envelopes or morphological alterations observed by TEM and flow cytometry after exposure to Eu were insufficient to cause bacterial death, they allowed access of VAN to the target site, since Eu-VAN/Van-FL-treated cultures showed fluorescent staining in