Evaluation of the synergistic effects of novel antimicrobial polymer 147-1

• Main Author: Leong, Philemon Ye Chao
• Other Authors: Chan Bee Eng, Mary
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Bioengineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75465
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In recent years, antibiotic resistance among pathogenic bacteria has been on the rise. At the same time, the rate of new antibiotic discovery diminishing. There is an urgent need to discover new compounds and/or therapies in order to combat this. There are many avenues which can be pursued, one of them is synergistic combination therapy. Antibiotics have mostly been administered in standalone formulations, though there has been increasing evidence of the viability of combination therapy. In this study, our aim was to evaluate the synergistic properties of an in-house designed novel polypeptide, 147-1, that had previously showed antimicrobial activity during screening. We tested 147-1 in conjunction with 14 antibiotics via synergistic MIC assay against clinical E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains, EC8739 and KPN-1. Results obtained showed synergy with most antibiotics, stronger synergy if the antibiotic mechanism of action required uptake into the bacteria. Polymer 147-1 shows good potential as a candidate for combination therapy, though more studies will have to be done regarding the extents of its activity and synergy, as well as biocompatibility.