Speaker Biography

Surangi Jayawardena

Assistant professor The University of Alabama in Huntsville USA

Title: Targeted Drug Delivery -Nanoantibiotics for Targeted Antibiotic Delivery for Bacteria

Surangi Jayawardena
Biography:

Abstract:

The work demonstrates the use of carbohydrate-conjugated nanomaterial (glyconanomaterial) to target bacterial pathogens. A collection of systematic studies done by several groups has demonstrated that bacteria can be specifically targeted using various oligosaccharides. Through our preliminary investigations we have discovered that oligosaccharide conjugated nanoparticles (glyconanoparticles) could be used to target strain specific bacteria. For example D-maltoheptaose (G7) and trehalose conjugated nanoparticle used to effectively target Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium spp. Antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacterial strains is a growing global concern. We have demonstrated that these glyconanoparticles have been used as a carrier for antibiotics that would help target bacteria and reduce minimum inhibitory concentration of a conventional antibiotic. Antibiotic streptomycin (Str) is a broad range aminoglycoside typically used in the treatment of tuberculosis. We have bi-functionalized a nanoparticle using carbohydrate-G7 antibiotic-Str to produce glyconanoantibiotics (GNAs). As proof of concept for active targeting GNAs are used against a highly Str resistant E. coli strain. The GNAs demonstrated size dependent increased antibacterial efficacy few log folds improvement over the free the free antibiotic (Str).