Surface engineering of mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles with bacteriophages for enhanced antibacterial activity

Abstract

Binary SiO2-CaO mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs) are multifunctional biomaterials able to promote osteogenic, angiogenic, and immunomodulatory activities. MBGNs have been applied in a variety of tissue regeneration strategies. However, MBGNs lack strong antibacterial activity and current strategies (loading of antibacterial ions and antibiotics) toward enhanced antibacterial activity may cause cytotoxicity or antibiotic resistance. Here we engineered MBGNs using bacteriophages (phages) to enhance the antibacterial activity of the nanoparticle. Salmonella Typhimurium (S. T) phage PFPV25.1 which can infect Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain LT2 was used as a model phage to engineer MBGNs. The MBGNs were first modified with amine groups to enhance the affinity between phages and MBGNs surfaces. Afterward, the physicochemical and antibacterial activity of phage-engineered MBGNs was evaluated. The results showed that S. T phage PFPV25.1 was successfully bound onto MBGNs surfaces without losing their bioactivity. A higher quantity of phages could be bounded onto amine-functionalized MBGNs than non-functionalized MBGNs. Phages on amine-functionalized MBGNs exhibited higher antibacterial activity. The stability test showed that phages could remain on amine-functionalized MBGNs for over 28 days. This work provides valuable information on developing phage-modified MBGNs as a new, effective antibacterial system for biomedical applications.