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Combating Antibiotic Resistance in Veterinary Medicine with Mechanochemistry

Views: 34 Author: Unibest Industrial Publish Time: 2023-11-16 Origin: Site

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health crisis, making infections harder to treat and increasing healthcare costs. As we recognize World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, it's important to consider how this problem impacts both human medicine and veterinary medicine. Animals and humans share many of the same antibiotics, so overuse and misuse of either can spread resistant bacteria.

World Antibiotic Awareness Week from WHO

Go Blue - World Antibiotic Awareness Week, World Health Organization

In veterinary medicine, antibiotics are used to treat infections and are also given prophylactically or added to feed as growth promoters. While regulations in some countries have limited the use of antibiotics for growth promotion, antibiotic use in animals remains high in many parts of the world. This contributes to rising resistance.

Mechanochemistry

New approaches are needed to preserve antibiotic effectiveness while still protecting animal health. One promising strategy is using mechanochemistry - a method that applies mechanical force to induce chemical changes in pharmaceuticals.

Three types of Mechanochemistry Devices

Three types of mechanochemistry devices. (a) - rolling mill; (b) - oscillatory mill; (c) - planetary mill

How may mechanochemistry help combat antibiotic resistance?

Mechanochemistry can improve drug solubility and bioavailability. It has been used to create solid dispersions of veterinary medicines such as sulfadiazine mixed with other excipients. In one study, ball milling sulfadiazine with cyclodextrin, a polymer, and surfactant made the resulting solid dispersion 3-7 times more soluble and doubled the drug's bioavailability compared to sulfadiazine alone.

Mechanochemistry's application in preparing sulfadiazine solid dispersions that resulted in increased solubility and higher AUC.

Compound sulfadiazine solid dispersion and preparation method and application thereof (CN116549395A). The red horizontal line in the left image represents the approximal 77 mg/L solubility at 25 degrees celsius in water of Sulfadiazine.

With improved solubility and bioavailability, the same antibiotic becomes more effective. This could allow lower doses to be used in veterinary medicine while maintaining efficacy against infections. More of the antibiotic also reaches the site of infection rather than being eliminated, enhancing antibacterial activity.

Mechanochemistry shows promise as one approach to making the most of existing antibiotics. Alongside policies to optimize antibiotic use, innovative formulations can stretch our limited antibiotic arsenal while we urgently develop new treatment options. Collaborative efforts across human medicine, veterinary medicine, and pharmaceutical science are needed to fully address this global crisis.

Unibest mechanochemistry services

Unibest has partnered with the industrial leader in mechanochemistry services in the following areas:

1. Crystalline form control and conversion - Our mechanochemical techniques can improve drug solubility, bioavailability, and stability by controlling polymorphs and changing drug-excipient interactions. We can reduce excipient amounts and improve safety.

2. Solvent-free extraction - Our mechanochemistry extracts active compounds from plants and animals without organic solvents, improving selectivity, yields, and novel bioactivities compared to traditional techniques.

3. Green synthesis - Our solvent-free, mechanochemical drug syntheses increase reaction selectivity and yields, enabling new reactions and substrates while avoiding toxic solvents. We reform traditional pharmaceutical production.