Carrier-free nanoassemblies of a novel oxazolidinone compound FYL-67 display antimicrobial activity on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

In this work, a novel oxazolidinone compound FYL-67 was synthesized, and the obtained FYL-67 could form nanoassemblies in aqueous solution by a self-assembly method without using any carrier, organic solvent, or surfactant. The prepared FYL-67 nanoassemblies had a particle size of 264.6 ± 4.3 nm. The FYL-67 nanoassemblies can be lyophilized into a powder form without any cryoprotector or excipient, and the re-dissolved FYL-67 nanoassemblies are stable and homogeneous. The in vitro release profile showed a significant difference between rapid release of free FYL-67 and much slower and sustained release of FYL-67 nanoassemblies. In vitro susceptibility tests were conducted in three strains of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and three strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), using linezolid as a positive control. FYL-67 nanoassemblies exhibited excellent in vitro activity, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.5 μg mL(-1) against MRSA. In the in vitro post-antibiotic effect (PAE) evaluation, FYL-67 nanoassemblies showed a more powerful effect than linezolid. Besides, in vitro cytotoxicity tests indicated that FYL-67 nanoassemblies had a very low cytotoxicity on HEK293 cells and L02 cells. Furthermore, in both MSSA and MRSA systemic infection mouse models, FYL-67 nanoassemblies showed a lower ED(50) than linezolid. In a murine model of MRSA systemic infection, FYL-67 nanoassemblies displayed an ED(50) of less than 4.0 mg kg(-1), which is 2.3-fold better than that of linezolid. Our findings suggested that the FYL-67 nanoassemblies may be a potential drug candidate in MRSA therapy.