The antibacterial effect of the co-administration of poly(propylene imine) dendrimers and ciprofloxacin

Abstract

Fluoroquinolones, including ciprofloxacin, are often used to treat bacterial diseases. Due to the spread of drug resistance among microorganisms, alternative treatments are being sought. We report here on the antimicrobial activity of generation 4 (G4) PPI dendrimers in the presence of ciprofloxacin against the reference strains of Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Cytotoxicity of these compounds was investigated in the eukaryotic B14 Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line, HepG2 human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, mouse neuroblastoma N2a cell line and BRL-3A rat liver cell line. For both strains, the administration of PPI dendrimers along with ciprofloxacin significantly improved its antibacterial effect compared to the cultures given the drug alone. The simultaneous application of dendrimers and ciprofloxacin shows the opportunity of using it at lower doses. Ciprofloxacin and PPI dendrimers are harmful to bacterial strains at the concentrations non-toxic to the eukaryotic cells.