Engineering small molecular therapeutics and multifunctional biomaterials to mitigate topical infections/

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) microbial pathogens have posed an enormous challenge in healthcare settings, leading to major global mortality, encompassing nosocomial as well as community-acquired infections. These drug-resistant pathogens are also capable of forming sessile impenetrable superstructures called biofilms at the infection site, which further compromises therapeutic efforts. These combined threats have posed an enormous challenge to the clinical community for effective tackling of topical and wound infections. Alongside, a major challenge for complicated systemic and topical infections has been the co-existence and concurrent infections which involve multiple species of microbes. In addition to these complexities in the context of topical infections, there remain additional obstacles such as delayed healing, and over-action of innate host immunity. Additionally, when such wounds arise from traumatic origins, they can also converge with rapid and uncontrollable blood loss, often proving to be fatal. In this thesis dissertation, I have developed small molecular therapeutics, and polymeric antimicrobial biomaterials to tackle these imperative challenges of topical infections. These therapeutics and multifunctional materials were engineered and investigated for their potency to address the complications concerning topical and wound infections.