Tissue Nano-Transfection (TNT) Mediates Bacterial Biofilm Disruption in Infected Wounds

Friday, October 13, 2023

3:00 PM – 3:15 PM PDT

Location: 325 (Center, Level 3)

Presenting Author(s)

Tatiana Z. Cuellar-Gaviria, PhD (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Fellow
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Co-Author(s)

MR

Maria A. Rincon-Benavides, n/a

PhD student
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Ana I. Salazar-Puerta, PhD (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Scholar
The Ohio State University, United States
HT

Hatice N. Topsakal, n/a

Istambul Atlas University, United States
PR

Pranav S. J. B. Rana

The Ohio State University, United States
DW

Daniel Wozniak, n/a

Professor
The Ohio State University, United States

Primary Investigator(s)

NH

Natalia Higuita-Castro, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Associate Professor; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Neurosurgery
The Ohio State University, United States

Last Author(s)

Daniel Gallego-Perez, PhD (he/him/his)

Associate Professor; Department of Biomedical Engineering and Surgery
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

The emergence of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics is on track to becoming a major global health crisis, therefore there is a need for new treatment options. In this study, we employed a tissue-nanotransfection (TNT) platform to treat Staph. aureus infected wounds by delivering molecular cargo coding for the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37. In vitro evaluation showed successful transfection and transcription of the molecular cargo into primary mouse epithelial cells. The TNT platform was then used In vivo on an excisional wound mouse model. Our approach successfully decreased the bacterial load, while promoting vascularization and increasing macrophage recruitment. Our results suggest the possibility of using this delivery method as a feasible strategy for the delivery of novel therapeutic peptides to infected tissues.