Alternating Magnetic Field Induced Membrane Permeability in Erythromycin Magneto-Liposomes A Potential Solution to Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a serious problem facing the world; it is increasing every year due to over or misuse of antibiotics that led to developing new mechanisms of drug resistance by bacteria. In the present study Magneto-Liposomes (MLs) loaded with Erythromycin drug were designed; They were subjected to 5 and 15 mT Alternating Magnetic Field (AMF) at 100 KHz for 30 min of exposure to test the effect of exposure to the AMF on inducing the drug release rate beyond the resistance mechanism of bacteria. During exposure, the temperature of the sample was continuously recorded using IR thermometer. After exposure, the percentage of drug released was tested using UPLC-MS/MS method for every hour until 8 h then at 24 h post-exposure. Results showed an elevated temperature of 4 and 24°C in case of exposure the Erythromycin-encapsulated MLs to 5 and 15 mT respectively. Moreover, an increase in the percentage of Erythromycin release with a percentage of (0.83 ± 0.1) μg/mL and with (1.33 ± 4) × 10–7 μg/mL for exposure to 5 and 15 mT respectively, with respect to (0.24 ± 0.06) μg/mL in the control group. Exposing Erythromycin-encapsulated ML to AMF accelerated the release rate due to mechanical actuation of the nanoparticles. These findings suggest that it is possible to trigger and control the drug release by merging the targeted drug delivery system with the nanotechnology and magnetic field. Upon increasing the intensity of the AMF, the release rate increased significantly.