Nano-enabled glycopeptide strategies against antimicrobial resistance: Immunological interfaces, exosomal delivery, and analytical frontiers

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is reducing the clinical durability of glycopeptide antibiotics by combining target-site adaptation with biofilm protection, poor tissue penetration, limited intracellular access, and host-mediated barriers to treatment. These limitations indicate that improving antibacterial potency alone is insufficient; effective therapy increasingly depends on material design, delivery behavior, and immunological compatibility. This review examines how nano-enabled strategies can extend glycopeptide performance, with emphasis on exosome-based carriers as biologically derived nanomaterials capable of improving transport across infected tissues, facilitating intracellular delivery, and modulating host immune responses. Review has discussed recent advances in glycopeptide structural redesign, exosome engineering, passive and targeted delivery, and hybrid antimicrobial–immunological mechanisms relevant to resistant Gram-positive infections. Preclinical studies indicate that exosome-mediated antibiotic delivery can enhance intracellular drug accumulation by approximately 2–5-fold and reduce effective minimum inhibitory concentrations by up to one order of magnitude in resistant Staphylococcus aureus models. However, these findings remain context-dependent and require validation in controlled clinical settings. Review has also evaluated analytical and computational frameworks, including proteomics, immune profiling, live-cell imaging, and machine learning, as enabling tools for mechanistic mapping, biomarker discovery, and rational combination design. Finally, review has outlined translational priorities involving manufacturing consistency, immunotoxicity assessment, regulatory classification, and cost-effective scalability. By integrating antibiotic chemistry with nanocarrier design and host-directed biology, glycopeptide–exosome platforms represent a promising materials-based strategy for overcoming persistent therapeutic barriers in antimicrobial resistance.