Red X iconGreen tick iconYellow tick icon
The University of Otago has launched a new brand. Find out more

Contact Details

Email
daniel.pletzer@otago.ac.nz
Position
Senior Lecturer
Department
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Qualifications
PhD
Research summary
Using nanomedicines to combat multidrug resistant WHO-priority pathogens

Research

Our research is focused on recalcitrant ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) pathogens; especially hard-to-treat clinical isolates involved in multidrug resistance, biofilm infections and persistence.

We are especially interested in bacteria that have been categorized as 'critical' priority pathogens by the World Health Organization. This includes multidrug resistant organisms that cause severe and often deadly infections and therefore pose an enormous threat in hospitals.

To address this issue, research in the Pletzer Lab focuses on fighting infectious diseases and tackling antimicrobial resistance using innovative and interdisciplinary approaches.

Our lab seeks to:

  1. Understand how microbes cause disease
  2. Fight antimicrobial resistance with novel nanomedicines
  3. Develop new antimicrobial strategies

Visit www.pletzerlab.com for more information

Visit Daniel Pletzer’s profile in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Scholarly networking websites

Publications

Choudhury, M., Brunton, P., Schwass, D., Pletzer, D., Ratnayake, J., Dias, G., & Tompkins, G. (2024). Effectiveness of gold nanoparticles in prevention and treatment of oral mucositis in animal models: A systematic review. Systematic Reviews, 13(1), 39. doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02425-9 Journal - Research Other

Rajchakit, U., Lamba, S., Wang, K., Lyons, N., Lu, J., Swift, S., Pletzer, D., & Sarojini, V. (2024). Size-controlled synthesis of gold nanoparticles tethering antimicrobial peptides with potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities. Molecular Pharmaceutics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00734 Journal - Research Article

Saha, T., Lyons, N., Yung, D. B. Y., Quiñones‑Mateu, M. E., Pletzer, D., & Das, S. C. (2024). Repurposing ebselen as an inhalable dry powder to treat respiratory tract infections. European Journal of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics, 195, 114170. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2023.12.010 Journal - Research Article

Hardie Boys, M. T., & Pletzer, D. (2023). Cross-resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics occurs in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking the aminoarabinosylation system. In T. Milne, M. Anwar, L. Burga, H. Harcombe, M. Garelja, A. Middleton, D. C. Ribeiro, N. Fleming, K. Ogbuehi & A. Bahn (Eds.), Proceedings of the 268th Otago Medical School Research Society (OMSRS) Meeting: Masters/Honours/Postgraduate Diploma Student Speaker Awards. Dunedin, New Zealand: OMSRS. Retrieved from https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/12839 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Saha, T., Lyons, N., Yung, D., Pletzer, D., Quiñones Mateu, M. E., & Das, S. (2023). Inhalable ebselen dry powder for respiratory tract infections. Pharmacy Education, 23(6), (pp. 147). doi: 10.46542/pe.2023.236.129157 Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Back to top