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Antibiotic Delivery Strategies to Treat Skin Infections When Innate Antimicrobial Defense Fails
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Antibiotic Delivery Strategies to Treat Skin Infections When Innate Antimicrobial Defense Fails

R Smith, J Russo, J Fiegel and N Brogden
Antibiotics (Basel), Vol.9(2), p.56
02/01/2020
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9020056
PMCID: PMC7168299
PMID: 32024064
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9020056View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The epidermal skin barrier protects the body from a host of daily challenges, providing protection against mechanical insults and the absorption of chemicals and xenobiotics. In addition to the physical barrier, the epidermis also presents an innate defense against microbial overgrowth. This is achieved through the presence of a diverse collection of microorganisms on the skin (the “microbiota”) that maintain a delicate balance with the host and play a significant role in overall human health. When the skin is wounded, the local tissue with a compromised barrier can become colonized and ultimately infected if bacterial growth overcomes the host response. Wound infections present an immense burden in healthcare costs and decreased quality of life for patients, and treatment becomes increasingly important because of the negative impact that infection has on slowing the rate of wound healing. In this review, we discuss specific challenges of treating wound infections and the advances in drug delivery platforms and formulations that are under development to improve topical delivery of antimicrobial treatments.
 Bacteria antibiotic antimicrobial biofilm infection microbiome Review skin topical wound

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