Antimicrobial effect of vancomycin encapsulated in PLGA-mPEG/PEI cationic nanoparticles against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

In recent decades it has become clear that antibiotics are not producing the same determining effect as when they were originally synthesized, considering the emergence of resistant microorganisms. In the face of this necessity, nano­technology with medical applications emerges as an alternative delivery sys­tem that allows maintaining or improving the antimicrobial effect. In this sce­nario, biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-immunogenic polymers, such as poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), become highly relevant as nanoencap­sulation systems. The present work shows the synthesis of polymeric nanopar­ticles loaded with vancomycin through double solvent-evaporation emulsion, their physicochemical characterization, the effect of the stabilizing agent on the synthesis and their antimicrobial effect against MRSA. Vancomycin-loaded PLGA-mPEG polymeric nanoparticles of less than 300nm, positively charged and stable, with antimicrobial activity against MRSA comparable to the free antibiotic, were obtained.