Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial and Biofilm-Disrupting Hydrogels: Stereocomplex-Driven Supramolecular Assemblies

摘要

The development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has created a myriad of new challenges within the healthcare field. Skin infections caused by drug-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus (MRSA) account for more than half of all reported cases of S. aureus skin infections in the United States. Furthermore, because of the extremely high occurrence of MRSA infections an estimated 20000 deaths occur annually. Unfortunately, current problems associated with drug-resistant microbes extend far beyond gram-positive bacteria such as MRSA. Perhaps even more distressing is the rapidly increasing antibiotic resistance of gram-negative bacteria, which already suffers from inadequate treatment options. Moreover, bacteria easily colonize the surfaces of tissue, surgical devices (implants, orthopedics, catheters, etc.), and instruments causing more than 85% of surgical device related infections. Bacterial biofilms consist of bacteria and self-secreted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), and are extremely resistant to conventional antibiotics because of acquired resistance, limited diffusion, and inactivation of antibiotics in EPS.