Novel peptide and hyaluronic acid coated biomimetic liposomes for targeting bacterial infections and sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome resulting from an imbalanced immune response to severe infections. Despite advances in nanomedicines, effective treatments for sepsis are still lacking. Herein, vancomycin free base (VCM)-loaded dual functionalized biomimetic liposomes based on a novel TLR4-targeting peptide (P3) and hyaluronic acid (HA) (HA-P3-Lipo) were developed to enhance sepsis therapy. The nanocarrier revealed appropriate physicochemical parameters, good stability, and biocompatibility. The release of VCM from HA-P3-Lipo was found to be sustained with 76 % VCM released in 48 h. The biomimicry was elucidated by in silico tools and MST and results confirmed strong binding between the system and TLR4. Furthermore, HA-P3-Lipo revealed 2-fold enhanced antibacterial activity against S. aureus, sustained antibacterial activity against MRSA over 72 h and 5-fold better MRSA biofilm inhibition compared to bare VCM. Bacterial-killing kinetics and flow cytometry confirmed the superiority of HA-P3-Lipo in eliminating MRSA faster than VCM. The in vivo potential of the nanocarrier was elucidated in an MRSA-induced sepsis mice model, and the results confirmed the superiority of HA-P3-Lipo compared to free VCM in eliminating bacteria and down-regulating the proinflammatory markers. Therefore, HA-P3-Lipo exhibits potential as a promising novel multi-functional nanosystem against sepsis and could significantly contribute to the transformation of sepsis therapy.