The project seeks to develop drug formulations of novel antimicrobials, so-called bacteriocins, by applying nanotechnology and artificial intelligence.
There is an urgent need for new and effective medicines to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections. The possibility that even common infections such as pneumonia can become untreatable with antibiotics is very real.
Bacteriocins are small, cationic peptides that have shown to efficiently kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the laboratory. This project aims to develop pharmaceutical formulations of bacteriocins in order to develop these potent agents into new medicines.
Because bacteriocins are peptides, these molecules easily degrade in the biological environment, thus making them less effective as antibiotics. In this project, we will investigate if bacteriocins can be encapsulated into very small particles in order to protect their structure and aid in the delivery to bacteria.
These so-called nanoparticles are typically in the size range of 10 -100 nm and they can function as drug delivery systems. In addition, the traditional approach to drug formulation development involves repeated experimentation in the laboratory, and trial-and-error is often a hallmark in order to obtain the desired product.
This is both time- and resource-consuming. In this project, we are also interested in if artificial intelligence can contribute to a faster and more efficient design of drug formulations.
In so doing, this can eliminate an important bottleneck in bringing new medicines to patients, especially in the fight of antimicrobial resistance where treatment options are dwindling.
Seed funding from OsloMet has been distributed as part of the Intelligent health initiative.
Participants
Collaboration partners
AgriBiotix AS
