ABSTRACT
The stalling development of antibiotics, especially against intrinsically resistant Gram-negative pathogens associated with outer membranes, leads to an emerging antibiotic crisis across the globe. To breathe life into existing drugs, we herein report a hypoxia-responsive nanoparticle (NP) that encapsulates a hydrophobic antibiotic, rifampicin, and a cationic potentiator, polysulfonium. The simultaneous release of antibiotics and potentiators can be promoted and inhibited in response to the severity of bacterial-induced hypoxia, leading to antimicrobial dosing in a precision manner. Under the synergism of polysulfoniums with membrane-disruption capability, the NPs can intensively decrease the antibiotic dose by up to 66-95% in eliminating planktonic Gram-negative P. aeruginosa bacteria and achieve an 8-log reduction of bacteria in mature biofilms at rifampicin MIC. The NP formulation demonstrates that precision dosing of antibiotics and potentiators regulated by hypoxia provides a promising strategy to maximize efficacy and minimize toxicity in treating Gram-negative bacterial infection.