Mucus penetration enhanced lipid polymer nanoparticles improve the eradication rate of Helicobacter pylori biofilm

The resistance of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) to conventional antibiotic treatments becomes prevalent recently. The biofilm formation was found to be highly correlated with the antibiotic resistance of H. pylori in the last decades. Moreover, H. pylori colonizes on the digestive tract epithelium located under the mucus layers, which further reduces therapeutic efficacy as mucus layers trap and remove exogenous substances including drugs. Herein, we reported a novel lipid polymer nanoparticles (LPNs) to overcome both biofilm and mucus layers obstruction. LPNs employed chitosan nanoparticle (CS NPs) as the core, mixed lipid layer containing rhamnolipids (RHL) as the shell and the surface of LPNs was further modified with DSPE-PEG2000 to improve hydrophilicity. Clarithromycin (CLR), a first-line drug for H. pylori infection, was encapsulated in LPNs. LPNs, especially the formulation utilizing 100% of RHL as the lipid shell, exhibited excellent eradicating ability to H. pylori biofilm, which was mainly reflected in the significant reduction of biofilm biomass and viability, destruction of biofilm architecture and elimination of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The anti-biofilm activities of LPNs are related to: 1) the disrupting effect of RHL on biofilm matrix; 2) antibacterial effects of CLR and CS NPs on biofilm bacteria and 3) inhibitory effects of CS NPs and RHL on bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation. Furthermore, PEGylated LPNs could rapidly penetrate through mucus without interacting with mucins and effectively eradicate H. pylori biofilm under mucus layer. In conclusion, a novel approach of drug-containing LPNs that could penetrate through mucus layers and effectively eradicate H. pylori biofilm provides new ways to treat persistent H. pylori infections.