Short presentation

Antibiotic resistance is currently one of the major healthcare threats across the world and is putting at risk the ability to treat common infections in the community and hospitals. Resistance to antibiotics not only increases length of illness but also increases risk of death. According to WHO’s 2014 report on global surveillance of antimicrobial resistance, patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) are estimated to be 64% more likely to die than those with a non-resistant form of the infection.

Approximately 65% of all human bacterial infections form biofilms, which can be up to 1000 times more resistant to antibacterial treatment and the body’s defence mechanisms than planktonic bacteria of the same species. Two of the most common biofilm-forming bacteria responsible for upper respiratory tract infections are Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and effective formulations aiming to treat infections caused by these pathogens are currently lacking.

Over the last 30 years, no major new types of antibiotics have been developed and reached the market. It is thus important to increase the clinical efficacy of existing and newly introduced antibacterial drugs by optimizing treatment regimes, drug combinations and formulations.

The aim of my project is to improve efficacy of antibiotic formulations for treatment of chronic infections of the sinuses caused by biofilm-forming Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa though identifiction of possible synergistic and antagonistic interactions with other antibiotics and non-antibiotic substances. Furthermore, I am investigating ways to improve the delivery of antibiotics to the infection site though use of polymeric or lipid formulations.