This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Helicobacter pylori bacteria infect around half the global population and are a leading cause of stomach ulcers and gastric cancer. While antibiotics remain the standard treatment, they often fail to reach bacteria hidden beneath the stomach's protective mucus layer and deep within ulcer tissue.
This often requires higher antibiotic doses, increasing the risk of adverse effects and antibiotic resistance. These limitations highlight the need for targeted drug delivery systems that deliver antibiotics directly to the infection site while overcoming the stomach's biological barriers. To address this challenge, researchers from Pusan National University developed polydopamine-functionalized, clarithromycin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles designed to execute a multistage delivery cascade.
Explaining the motivation behind the study, lead author Dr. Jin-Wook Yoo says, "We developed a targeted nanoparticle platform that delivers antibiotics directly to H. pylori hidden deep within gastric ulcers. By overcoming the gastric mucus barrier and precisely targeting the infection site, this approach enables precise local therapy." This paper was published in the Journal of Controlled Release on June 10, 2026.
The nanoparticles were fabricated using a nanoprecipitation method followed by a polydopamine surface coating. Their physicochemical properties, including size, morphology, surface chemistry, stability, drug loading and release profile, were thoroughly characterized. The platform was then evaluated through in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo studies that assessed mucus penetration, bacterial adhesion, gastric retention, tissue penetration, antibacterial activity and therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model of H. pylori-infected gastric ulcers.
The engineered nanoparticles successfully completed each stage of the delivery cascade. They remained stable under acidic gastric conditions, minimized premature clarithromycin release, penetrated the gastric mucus barrier, selectively accumulated at ulcer sites and reached approximately 400 μm into ulcer tissue, where deep-seated H. pylori reside. The polydopamine coating also enabled strong, ligand-independent bacterial adhesion, allowing localized antibiotic release directly at the infection site.
This precision targeting achieved approximately 99.9% bacterial reduction, accelerated ulcer healing, prolonged gastric retention and promoted tissue regeneration. Notably, these therapeutic benefits were achieved using a 10-fold lower dose of clarithromycin than conventional systemic therapy. The findings demonstrate how multifunctional nanomedicine can overcome the biological barriers that limit conventional antibiotic treatment.
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