Study Examines Narasin For Human Acne Treatment

Scientists at the University of South Australia (UniSA) may have found an effective treatment for acne using nanotechnology and polyether antibiotic. The team looked at narasin encased in nanoparticles and applied in a gel to targeted acne sites.

Narasin, a polyether antibiotic produced by the fermentation of a strain of Streptomyces aureofaciens, is commonly used for bacterial infections in livestock. It has never been previously investigated as a viable treatment for acne.

It proved successful against drug-resistant acne bacteria and delivered via nanocarriers achieved a 100-fold increase in absorption than simply taken with water, according to the study findings, which have been published in the journal Nanoscale.

Lead author UniSA PhD student Fatima Abid says this is the first time that nano-micelle formulations of Narasin have been developed and trialled.



“Although there are many oral medications prescribed for acne, they have a range of detrimental side effects, and many are poorly water soluble, which is why most patients and clinicians prefer topical treatments,” said Abid.

Abid’s supervisor, pharmaceutical scientist Professor Sanjay Garg, contends a combination of increasing antibiotic resistance and the ineffectiveness of many topical drugs to penetrate hair follicles in acne sites means there is a pressing need to develop new antibacterial therapies that are effective and safe.

Abid, Garg and researchers from UniSA, the University of Adelaide, and Aix-Marseille Université in France also investigated how well Narasin encased in nanoparticles penetrated various layers of skin, using pig’s ear skin as a model.

“The micelle formulation was effective in delivering Narasin to acne targets sites, as opposed to the compound solution which failed to permeate through skin layers,”  noted Garg.