Combined System for the Simultaneous Delivery of Levofloxacin and Rifampicin: Structural and Functional Properties and Antibacterial Activity.

The therapy of resistant forms of tuberculosis requires the simultaneous use of several drugs, in particular, a combination of rifampicin and levofloxacin. In this paper, we aimed to design a combined system for the simultaneous delivery of these drugs for potential inhalation administration. A feature of this system is the incorporation of rifampicin into optimized liposomal vesicles capable of forming a multipoint non-covalent complex with chitosan-ß-cyclodextrin conjugates. Levofloxacin is incorporated into cyclodextrin tori by forming a host-guest complex. Here, a comprehensive study of the physicochemical properties of the obtained systems was carried out and special attention was paid to the kinetics of cargo release for individual drugs and in the combined system. The release of levofloxacin in combined system is slow and is described by the Higuchi model in all cases. The release of rifampicin from liposomes during the formation of complexes with polymeric conjugates is characterized by the change of the Higuchi model to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with the main type of diffusion against Fick's law. Microbiological studies in solid and liquid growth media a consistently high antibacterial activity of the obtained systems was shown against B. subtilis and E. coli.

Cyclodextrins and Their Polymers Affect Human Serum Albumin's Interaction with Drugs Used in the Treatment of Pulmonary Infections.

Respiratory infectious diseases have challenged medical communities and researchers. Ceftriaxone, meropenem and levofloxacin are widely used for bacterial infection treatment, although they possess severe side effects. To overcome this, we propose cyclodextrin (CD) and CD-based polymers as a drug delivery system for the drugs under consideration. CD polymers demonstrate higher binding affinity for levofloxacin (Ka ≈ 105 M) compared to drug-CD complexes. CDs slightly alter the drugs' affinity for human serum albumin (HSA), whereas CD polymers increase the drugs' binding affinity up to 100 times. The most significant effect was observed for more the hydrophilic drugs ceftriaxone and meropenem. The drug's encapsulation in CD carriers leads to a decrease in the degree of change in the protein's secondary structure. The drug-CD carrier-HSA complexes demonstrate satisfying antibacterial activity in vitro, and even a high binding affinity does not decrease the drug's microbiological properties after 24 h. The proposed carriers are promising for a drug form with a prolonged drug release.

Conjugates of Chitosan with ß-Cyclodextrins as Promising Carriers for the Delivery of Levofloxacin: Spectral and Microbiological Studies.

In this work, we synthesized chitosan 5 kDa conjugates with ß-cyclodextrins with various substituents as promising mucoadhesive carriers for the delivery of fluoroquinolones using the example of levofloxacin. The obtained conjugates were comprehensively characterized by spectral methods (UV-Vis, ATR-FTIR, 1H NMR, SEM). The physico-chemical properties of the complex formations were studied by IR, UV, and fluorescence spectroscopy. The dissociation constants of complexes with levofloxacin were determined. Complexation with conjugates provided four times slower drug release in comparison with plain CD and more than 20 times in comparison with the free drug. The antibacterial activity of the complexes was tested on model microorganisms Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633. The complex with the conjugate demonstrated the same initial levofloxacin antibacterial activity but provided significant benefits, e.g., prolonged release.

The Solubility Studies and the Complexation Mechanism Investigations of Biologically Active Spiro[cyclopropane-1,3'-oxindoles] with ß-Cyclodextrins.

In this work, we first improved the aqueous solubility of biologically active spiro[cyclopropane-1,3'-oxindoles] (SCOs) via their complexation with different ß-cyclodextrins (ß-CDs) and proposed a possible mechanism of the complex formation. ß-CDs significantly increased the water solubility of SCOs (up to fourfold). Moreover, the nature of the substituents in the ß-CDs influenced the solubility of the guest molecule (MßCD > SBEßCD > HPßCD). Complexation preferably occurred via the inclusion of aromatic moieties of SCOs into the hydrophobic cavity of ß-CDs by the numerous van der Waals contacts and formed stable supramolecular systems. The phase solubility technique and optical microscopy were used to determine the dissociation constants of the complexes (Kc~102 M−1) and reveal a significant decrease in the size of the formed crystals. FTIR-ATR microscopy, PXRD, and 1H-1H ROESY NMR measurements, as well as molecular modeling studies, were carried out to elucidate the host−guest interaction mechanism of the complexation. Additionally, in vitro experiments were carried out and revealed enhancements in the antibacterial activity of SCOs due to their complexation with ß-CDs.

The New Strategy for Studying Drug-Delivery Systems with Prolonged Release: Seven-Day In Vitro Antibacterial Action.

The new method of antibacterial-drug-activity investigation in vitro is proposed as a powerful strategy for understanding how carriers affect drug action during long periods (7 days). In this paper, we observed fluoroquinolone moxifloxacin (MF) antibacterial-efficiency in non-covalent complexes, with the sulfobutyl ether derivative of ß-cyclodextrin (SCD) and its polymer (SCDpol). We conducted in vitro studies on two Escherichia coli strains that differed in surface morphology. It was found that MF loses its antibacterial action after 3-4 days in liquid media, whereas the inclusion of the drug in SCD led to the increase of MF antibacterial activity by up to 1.4 times within 1-5 days of the experiment. In the case of MF-SCDpol, we observed a 12-fold increase in the MF action, and a tendency to prolonged antibacterial activity. We visualized this phenomenon (the state of bacteria, cell membrane, and surface morphology) during MF and MF-carrier exposure by TEM. SCD and SCDpol did not change the drug's mechanism of action. Particle adsorption on cells was the crucial factor for determining the observed effects. The proteinaceous fimbriae on the bacteria surface gave a 2-fold increase of the drug carrier adsorption, hence the strains with fimbriae are more preferable for the proposed treatment. Furthermore, the approach to visualize the CD polymer adsorption on bacteria via TEM is suggested. We hope that the proposed comprehensive method will be useful for the studies of drug-delivery systems to uncover long-term antibacterial action.

Cyclodextrins and Their Polymers Affect the Lipid Membrane Permeability and Increase Levofloxacin's Antibacterial Activity In Vitro.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are promising drug carriers that are used in medicine. We chose CDs with different substituents (polar/apolar, charged/neutral) to obtain polymers (CDpols) with different properties. CDpols are urethanes with average Mw of ~120 kDa; they form nanoparticles 100-150 nm in diameter with variable ζ-potential. We studied the interaction of CD and CDpols with model (liposomal) and bacterial membranes. Both types of CD carriers cause an increase in the liposomal membrane permeability, and for polymers, this effect was almost two times stronger. The formation of CD/CDpols complexes with levofloxacin (LV) enhances LV's antibacterial action 2-fold in vitro on five bacterial strains. The most pronounced effect was determined for LV-CD complexes. LV-CDs and LV-CDpols adsorb on bacteria, and cell morphology influences this process dramatically. According to TEM studies, the rough surface and proteinaceous fimbria of Gram-negative E. coli facilitate the adsorption of CD particles, whereas the smooth surface of Gram-positive bacteria impedes it. In comparison with LV-CDs, LV-CDpols are adsorbed 15% more effectively by E. coli, 2.3-fold better by lactobacilli and 5-fold better in the case of B. subtilis. CDs and CDpols are not toxic for bacterial cells, but may cause mild defects that, in addition to LV-CD carrier adsorption, improve LV's antibacterial properties.

Effect of cross-linking on the inclusion complex formation of derivatized ß-cyclodextrins with small-molecule drug moxifloxacin.

Derivatized ß-cyclodextrins (CDs), cyclic oligomers of glucose with inner cavity, are able to form the inclusion complex with many poorly soluble lipophilic organic molecules, including drugs, thus improving their solubility in aqueous solutions and drug bioavailability. Here, we have studied the effect of cross-linking of derivatized CDs with different substituent nature, on their binding with antibacterial drug moxifloxacin (MF) which served as a model small molecule drug. Cross-linking of derivatized CDs with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMD) yielded 100-200 nm nanoparticles with distinct binding properties, strongly depending on the nature of the CD substituent, degree of oligomerization, and the nanoparticle's charge. Interestingly, substituent that improved MF binding to monomeric CDs the most (methyl moiety), had reverse effect in the case of cross-linked CD. Whereas the substituent that had only limited effect on the monomeric CD (sulfobutyl ether moiety), improved binding of cross-linked CD by almost two orders of magnitude. Further, we show that the cross-linked CD complexes with MF perform better in vitro antibacterial assay on E.coli, compared to both free MF and monomeric CD-MF. Overall, this data indicates the potential utility of CD cross-linking and derivatization to develop small molecule drug formulations with improved pharmacological properties.

Moxifloxacin interacts with lipid bilayer, causing dramatic changes in its structure and phase transitions.

Most drugs besides their intended activity, express undesired side effects, including those with the engagement of cell membrane. Previously, such undesired nonspecific effects on the membrane have been shown for a number of widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In this paper, we study the mechanism of interaction between moxifloxacin (Mox), antibacterial drug of broad specificity, with lipid bilayer of the liposomes of various compositions as a model of cell membrane using a combination of spectroscopy methods, including ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, circular dichroism, UV and fluorescence spectroscopy. The fine structure of the moxifloxacin-liposome complex, localization of the drug in bilayer and the main sites of Mox interaction with lipid membrane were determined. Lipid composition of the liposome plays a key role in the interaction with moxifloxacin, drastically affecting the loading efficiency, strength and character of drug binding, lipid phase segregation and phase transition parameters. In case of anionic liposomes composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cardiolipin (CL2-) the electrostatic interaction of negatively charged nitrogen in heterocycle moiety of moxifloxacin with cardiolipin phosphate groups is a crucial factor for stable complex formation. The study of moxifloxacin-liposome complex behavior at phase transition in bilayer by DSC method revealed that in DPPC/CL2- liposomes system two microphases with different content of CL2- coexist and Mox interacts with both of these microphases resulting in the formation of two types of complexes with different structure and phase transition temperature. This binding stabilized the gel-state of the lipid bilayer with increasing the phase transition temperature Tm up to 3-5 °C. A different situation is observed for neutral DPPC liposomes: drug interaction with bilayer results in defects formation and a fluidization effect in lipid bilayer, resulted to decrease the Tm value by 2-4 °C. Moxifloxacin is not firmly binding in the membrane of DPPC and drug releases rapidly.

Thermodynamics and molecular insight in guest-host complexes of fluoroquinolones with ß-cyclodextrin derivatives, as revealed by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and molecular modeling experiments.

ß-Сyclodextrin (CD) is a perspective class of excipients used in pharmaceutical formulations to enhance solubility, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetics of various poorly soluble drugs, forming a non-covalent guest-host complex. However, the development of such formulations is usually a very laborious and time-consuming process due to lack of appropriate analytical tools to directly track and study the detailed molecular mechanism of such complex formation. Here, using guest-host complexes of fluoroquinolones (FQ) with CDs, as an example, we demonstrate the utility of ATR-FTIR to determine the thermodynamic stability, as well as structural features associated with complex formation, including involvement of certain functional groups. Furthermore, varying the CD's side groups, we were able to tailor the CD's geometry and binding surface to make FQ-CD interactions strong enough to potentially affect its pharmacokinetics and justify development of a new sustained-release drug formulation (dissociation constant decreased from 5 * 10-3 M to 10-5 M). 3D molecular modeling with energy optimization supports the findings and conclusions made on the basis of ATR-FTIR data analysis and explains the observed difference in dissociation constants.