Vancomycin and curcumin-loaded zinc oxide functionalized chitosan carrier for the treatment of multi-drug resistant bacterial infection

Natural bioactive compounds exhibit potent and promising antibacterial activity against Multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria by cell wall permeation and inhibiting the efflux pump system. This research work deals with the fabrication of natural bioactive compound and commercially available antibiotic drug-loaded metal nanoparticle-based polymeric nanocarrier for the treatment of MDR bacterial infections. Initially, the vancomycin-loaded citrate-ZnO was prepared, followed by the chitosan-coated vancomycin-citrate-ZnO carrier. Further, curcumin was loaded in the chitosan-vancomycin-citrate-ZnO carrier (Cur-Chit-Van-Cit-ZnO). The synthesized carriers were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, DLS, SEM, and HR-TEM analysis. The elements present in the carriers were evaluated using EDX analysis. Biological studies were carried out to examine the antibacterial activity of ZnO, carrier, and drug-loaded carriers using disk diffusion and MIC analysis. The XRD results indicate the amorphous nature of Cur-Chit-Van-Cit-ZnO, and the surface morphological studies exhibit a spherical-like structure. The presence of Zn was evaluated from EDX analysis as 28% in Cur-Chit-Van-Cit-ZnO. Disk diffusion analysis exhibits potential antibacterial activity for Cur-Chit-Van-Cit-ZnO against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and K. pneumonia with 22 mm and 14 mm of zone of inhibition measurements. The drug-loaded carrier showed 112 μg/mL and 150 μg/mL concentrations as MIC values against MRSA and K. pneumonia. The physicochemical characterizations and biological analyses were confirmed the synthesized drug-loaded carrier’s formation and inhibition efficiency against MRSA and K. pneumonia. It will provide a potential formulation against MDR bacterial infections.