AUTHOR=Ommen Pernille , Hansen Line , Hansen Bente K. , Vu-Quang Hieu , Kjems Jørgen , Meyer Rikke L. 

TITLE=Aptamer-Targeted Drug Delivery for Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.814340

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.814340

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Treatment of <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> biofilm infections using conventional antibiotic therapy is challenging as only doses that are sublethal to the biofilm can be administered safely to patients. A potential solution to this challenge is targeted drug delivery. In this study, we tailored an aptamer-targeted liposomal drug delivery system for accumulation and delivery of antibiotics locally in <italic>S. aureus</italic> biofilm. In our search for a suitable targeting ligand, we identified six DNA aptamers that bound to <italic>S. aureus</italic> cells in biofilms, and we demonstrated that one of these aptamers could facilitate accumulation of liposomes around <italic>S. aureus</italic> cells inside the biofilm. Aptamer-targeted liposomes encapsulating a combination of vancomycin and rifampicin were able to eradicate <italic>S. aureus</italic> biofilm upon 24 h of treatment <italic>in vitro</italic>. Our results point to that aptamer-targeted drug delivery of antibiotics is a potential new strategy for treatment of <italic>S. aureus</italic> biofilm infections.</p>