Chelated iron sources are inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms and distribute efficiently in an in vitro model of drug delivery to the human lung.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether chelated sources of ferric iron were efficient inhibitors of biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and might be suitable for drug delivery to the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients via nebulization.


RESULTS
The response of P. aeruginosa biofilms to elevated iron concentrations in the form of eight structurally varied iron chelators in a microtitre plate assay for biofilm production was examined in the lab. Among these iron chelates, picolinic acid and acetohydroxamic acid-chelated iron were able to effectively thwart biofilm production in P. aeruginosa PA14 and in 20 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from a local hospital. The chelated iron sources showed excellent distribution in an Anderson cascade impactor model of particle size distribution in the human lung.


CONCLUSIONS
Ferric picolinate and ferric acetohydroxamate are effective anti-biofilm compounds against both lab and clinical strains of P. aeruginosa and are readily nebulized into particles of suitable size for lung delivery.


CONCLUSIONS
The data herein serve both to solidify the growing base of literature correlating high iron levels with biofilm inhibition in P. aeruginosa and to highlight the potential of these chelators as nebulized agents to combat biofilms of P. aeruginosa in CF patients.
Musk
D J
DJ
Department of Chemistry, Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems, Roger Adams Lab, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Hergenrother
P J
PJ
D000336:Aerosols; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008168:Lung / Q000382:microbiology*; D010316:Particle Size; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects*; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence
D000336:Aerosols; D007502:Iron Chelating Agents