Research Highlights
Targeting intracellular Salmonella infection using lipid coated nanoparticles
Salmonella is the causative organism of gastroenteritis, typhoid and paratyphoid diseases and is responsible for 2 million fatalities throughout the world. Salmonella has developed ingenious methods to survive even in detrimental intracellular environment of macrophages. BSSE student Rajeev Mudakavi et al. have developed lipid coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (L-MSN) which are able to target intracellular Salmonella and eliminate them from their host cell by delivering antibiotic directly into its intracellular niche. They also observed that a lower dose of antibiotic encapsulated into L-MSN was sufficient to clear the Salmonella infection from mice. More information of this can be obtained from the following publication.
Publication: R. Mudakavi, A. M. Raichur, and D. Chakravortty , “Lipid coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle as oral delivery system for targeting and treatment of intravacuolar Salmonella infection”, RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 61160-61166. DOI: 10.1039/C4RA12973C
Pore-forming toxins on artificial membranes
Pore-forming toxins are produced by pathogenic bacteria and punch holes in cell membranes, thereby killing the cell. These toxins are proteins that are unique in their ability to bind to the cell membrane and form pores that are comprised of multiple stands of the same protein. Research has shown which region of the ClyA toxin is important for pore formation, and molecular dynamics simulations have revealed the molecular details that underlie pore formation and membrane interaction.
Publication: M. S. Vaidyanathan, P. Sathyanarayana, P. K. Maiti, S. S. Visweswariah and K. G. Ayappa, “Lysis dynamics and membrane oligomerization pathways for Cytolysin A (ClyA) pore-forming toxin”, RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 4930-4942. DOI: 10.1039/C3RA45159C