Journal of Microbial Pathogenesis

Immobilization of therapeutic agents on magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles decreases binding to blood serum proteins and increases resistance to enzymatic cleavage

Abstract

Julia Nowak Jary

A drug’s affinity for binding blood serum proteins, such as albumin, determines a primary interaction affecting its biological activity. Only the free unbound fraction of a drug can induce a therapeutic effect. A range of effective antimicrobial agents, such as peptides containing N3-(4- methoxyfumaroyl)-L-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid (FMDP), are known to be powerful inhibitors of fungal and bacterial growth in vitro; nevertheless, the use of these compounds in clinics has proven intractable due to their irreversible binding of blood serum proteins, causing complete loss of their biological activity.