Anti-Infection Technology Stops Infection Before it Begins

A new study describes novel drug-delivery technologies that could be used to treat compound fractures and other wounds by bolstering the immune system.

Researchers from West Virginia University (WVU; Morgantown, WV, USA) developed the treatment alternative to antibiotic therapy based on the characteristics of interleukin-12 (IL-12), a drug currently being tested in anticancer clinical trials. The assessment of IL-12 effect on infection was tested using two different delivery approaches. The first was delivery in a microcapsule form that could be injected or, potentially, delivered in a fine-mist spray directly to the site of an injury. The second approach involves a nanocoating of IL-12 applied directly to stents, pacemakers, pain pumps, artificial limbs, and potentially any other biomedical device before implantation; the coating thickness is measured on the nanometer--one-billionth of a meter--scale. In both methods, since the IL-12 is delivered locally rather than spread throughout the body as in antibiotic therapy, side effects are minimal. The study was published ahead of print in the July 9, 2009, issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.

"Interleukin-12 will maximize the body's natural response to an extent where infections can be prevented without the risk of the offending bacteria developing resistance to the treatment, as is becoming more of a problem with antibiotic therapy alone,” said lead investigator Bingyun Li, Ph.D., director of the WVU biomaterials, bioengineering, and nanotechnology laboratory. "With nanocoating, the drug is right where it needs to be--at the interface of the implant and your tissue. With the microcapsule, the drug can be injected or sprayed where desired, and the nanocoating and microcapsule prolong the half-life of interleukin-12.”

Interleukin-12 is naturally produced by dendritic cells, macrophages, and human B-lymphoblastoid cells in response to antigenic stimulation. IL-12 is involved in the differentiation of naive T-cells and is known as a T-cell-stimulating factor, affecting the growth and function of T-cells. It also stimulates the production of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the cells.

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