Fig. 4. Efficacy of the drugamer against a pulmonary Burkholderia thailandensis E264 infection in a pre-exposure prophylactic setting.
Free ciprofloxacin (free drug) or drugamer were intratracheally administered (50 μL aerosolization, 20mg ciprofloxacin/kg) at day −2, −1, and 0 using a MicroSprayer® (n = 8 for each treatment group). All mice were challenged with aerosolized B. thailandensis 2h after dosing on day 0. Survival rate and health condition of mice were monitored for 14 days. (A) Survival rate of infected mice. Arrows indicate dosing day. (B & C) Body weight and surface temperature of mice over the course of the experiment. (D) Clinical scores of mice. (E) Bacterial burden in organs retrieved from mice that survived to the experimental endpoint (14 days). Mice were scored on seven categories: activity, coat, eyes, breathing, posture, isolation, and resistance to handling, with scores of 0, 0.5, and 1 specified for each category. CFU: Colony-forming unit. Data are presented as mean ± SD.