Peptide-conjugated nanoemulsions for treatment of pneumonia using antimicrobial photodynamic therapy

Giulia Kassab – Postdoctoral Researcher, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network; Juan Chen – Scientific Associate, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network; Charles Lochenie – Translational Chemistry Manager, University of Edinburgh; Caitlyn Lee – Undergraduate Student, Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, McMaster University; Hanyi Weng – PhD Candidate, Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto; Marc Vendrell – Professor, University of Edinburgh; Gang Zheng – Professor, University of Toronto

Introduction:

Antimicrobial resistance remains an emerging global health threat, with over 1.5 million deaths associated with drug-resistant lower respiratory infections (1). Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is a promising treatment modality where a photosensitizer is irradiated with light to produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Despite its advantages, the presence of lung surfactant in the alveoli impedes photodynamic efficacy (2). To overcome this barrier and enhance delivery, we present a novel nanoemulsion incorporating the photosensitizer pyropheophorbide-α (Py) conjugated to antimicrobial peptide mUBI to enable bacterial targeting within the pulmonary environment (3).