Dendritic Hydrogels for Bacterial Resistance

Gel fights drug-resistant bacteria and induces body’s natural immune defense.
“[Bioengineers at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm] demonstrate the effect of a new class of cationic hydrogels based on amino-functional hyperbranched dendritic–linear–dendritic copolymers (HBDLDs) exhibiting excellent antimicrobial activity toward a wide range of clinical Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including drug-resistant strains isolated from wounds. Intriguingly, the hydrogels can induce the expression of the antimicrobial peptides RNase 7 and psoriasin, promoting host-mediated bacterial killing in human keratinocytes (HaCaT). Moreover, treatment with the hydrogels decreased the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β, reactive nitrogen species (NO), and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in S. aureus-infected HaCaT cells, conjunctively resulting in reduced inflammation.” MORE
Image Credit: Royal Institute of Technology News