Q&A: Liquid crystal nanoparticles enhance antibiotics to reduce CF lung infections

Key takeaways:

• Patients with cystic fibrosis are susceptible to serious lung infections.
• Delivering antibiotics through liquid crystal nanoparticles has protected against lung infections in preclinical studies.

In addition to suffering with cystic fibrosis, patients with this condition often contract lung infections that are difficult to treat; however, an upcoming study may reveal a way to lower infection prevalence.

According to a press release from the University of South Australia (UniSA), researchers at the university are looking into liquid crystal nanoparticles as a delivery system for antibiotics given during treatment for lung infections in patients with CF.

Compared with conventional antibiotic therapies, researchers believe that liquid crystal nanoparticle-formulated antibiotics are better at targeting the infection based on preclinical trial results.

To learn more about liquid crystal nanoparticles and the goals of the upcoming study, Healio spoke with Clive Prestidge, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical science at UniSA, co-director for the Centre of Pharmaceutical Innovation and head of the nanostructure and drug delivery research group.

Healio: What makes patients with CF more susceptible to lung infections? Are there any current treatments for this indication?

Prestidge: CF sufferers have abnormally thick and sticky mucus in their lungs, which traps bacteria and viruses in their airways and increases the likelihood of lung infection.

CF treatment includes a combination of inhaled antibiotics, anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling in the lung airways, mucus-thinning drugs to improve lung function and inhaled bronchodilators to open airways.

Healio: What are liquid crystal nanoparticles? What have they been used for up until this point? What does prior research suggest about them when formulated as antibiotics?

Prestidge: Certain lipids self-assemble to form lipid nanoparticles with specific internal structure, eg, a cubic structure (cubosomes). These have been explored for use in many formulations and in health care, agrochemicals and other applications. Prior research suggests that liquid crystal nanoparticles significantly improve the performance of antibiotics and employ a number of complex mechanisms.

Healio: What makes this delivery approach unique? How does this play into how you believe they will perform in treating patients with CF and lung infections?

Prestidge: Current antibiotics (eg, tobramycin) are challenged by bacterial biofilms and work very poorly. There are no current solutions to this challenge. This is the case for CF patients with pseudomonas infections in the lung. Liquid crystal nanoparticles, through their novel mechanisms of action, enable such antibiotics to overcome the biofilm challenge and improve their performance many 1,000 times.

Healio: Could you tell us about the design of the study?

Prestidge: Our upcoming studies will confirm the stability and antibacterial properties of the new antibiotic formulation and then undertake nebulized lung delivery studies in preclinical models to confirm safety and efficacy.

Healio: What are you hoping to find by the end of this study? What would the next step be after this research?

Prestidge: By the end of the study, we hope to have preclinical safety and efficacy data on nebulized formulation to the healthy and CF lung. The next step in this research is to conduct human clinical trials on CF sufferers. This treatment could potentially be used for other lung infections.

For more information:

Clive Prestidge, PhD, can be reached at clive.prestidge@unisa.edu.au.

Reference:

• Liquid crystal nanoparticles supercharge antibiotics for cystic fibrosis. https://www.unisa.edu.au/media-centre/Releases/2024/liquid-crystal-nanoparticles-supercharge-antibiotics-for-cystic-fibrosis. Published March 27, 2024. Accessed March 29, 2024.