Characteristics and Applications of Peptide Nucleic Acid in the Treatment of Infectious Diseases and the Effect of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy on Treatment Effectiveness

Infect Disord Drug Targets. 2023 Aug 22. doi: 10.2174/1871526523666230724120957. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAntibiotic resistance is a growing global problem, so there is an urgent need for new antimicrobial agents and strategies. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers could be designed and utilized as gene-specific oligonucleotides to target any infectious agents. Selectivity and high-affinity binding are the main properties of PNA. However, in therapeutic applications, intracellular delivery of peptide nucleic acids is still a challenge. In photodynamic therapy (PDT), which could be a useful adjunct to mechanical and antibiotics in removing pathogenic agents, low-power lasers are used in appropriate wavelength for killing the microorganisms that have been treated with a photosensitizer drug. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) in combination with lipid-charged nanoparticles of PNA is a promising alternative therapy proposed to control infectious diseases. This review summarizes progress in the uptake of peptide nucleic acids at intracellular targets. In addition, we focus on recent nanoparticle- based strategies to efficiently deliver conventional and chemically modified peptide nucleic acids. The likely impact of using two treatment methods simultaneously, i.e., PNP and PDT, has already been discussed.PMID:37723954 | DOI:10.2174/1871526523666230724120957
Source: Infectious Disorders Drug Targets - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research