New drug delivery strategies for antibiofouling

With the advent of antibiotic resistance and crisis, it is crucial to find substitutes to conventional antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered to be viable alternatives. Because they are broad spectrum and bacteria develop little or no resistance towards AMPs. Interestingly, only few AMPs are used as therapeutics, due to their issues such as host toxicity, protease cleavage ad short lifetime. Therefore, there is a need to improve the efficacy of AMPs by use of chemical modifications and drug delivery vehicles. The thesis describes the activity of selected AMPs against planktonic and biofilm of different bacterial strains. Inorganic and organic nanoparticles are used as drug delivery systems to protect AMPs, conserve the activity, and enhance peptides circulation and lifetime.