In this work we report the synthesis, characterization and application of silver vanadate nanowires decorated with silver nanoparticles as a novel antibacterial agent. These hybrid materials were synthesized by a precipitation reaction of ammonium vanadate and silver nitrate followed by hydrothermal treatment. The silver vanadate nanowires have lengths of the order of microns and diameters around 60 nm. The silver nanoparticles decorating the nanowires present a diameter distribution varying from 1 to 20 nm. The influence of the pH of the reaction medium on the chemical structure and morphology of silver vanadates was studied and we found that synthesis performed at pH 5.5-6.0 led to silver vanadate nanowires with a higher morphological yield. The antimicrobial activity of these materials was evaluated against three strains of Staphylococcus aureus and very promising results were found. The minimum growth inhibiting concentration value against a MRSA strain was found to be ten folds lower than for the antibiotic oxacillin.

SignificanceAntibiotic tolerance causes antibiotic treatment failure and promotes the emergence of genotypic resistance in chronic infections, such as those caused by the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Laboratory stationary-phase bacteria exhibit a slow growing and metabolically quiescent state associated with high levels of multidrug tolerance likely analogous to the in vivo environment during chronic infection. We demonstrate that superoxide dismutases confer multidrug tolerance in stationary-phase bacteria, and identify a link between (p)ppGpp-mediated stress responses, superoxide metabolism, and membrane permeability to antibiotics. Inhibition of superoxide dismutase activity may overcome multidrug tolerance and potentiate current bactericidal antibiotics in the treatment of P. aeruginosa chronic infections.

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Significance We provide to our knowledge the first in vivo and in vitro evidence for H 2 O 2 -triggered heme transfer between proteins. Specifically, H 2 O 2 binds to and labilizes cytochrome c peroxidase (Ccp1)’s heme by oxidizing the proximal Fe ligand (His175), which activates Ccp1 to transfer its heme to apoCta1, and apoCcp1 subsequently escapes from mitochondria. This sequence of H 2 O 2 -activated heme labilization, heme transfer between proteins, and protein relocalization defines a previously undefined mechanism of H 2 O 2 signaling in cells. In contrast, established H 2 O 2 signaling mechanisms are dominated by thiol-based redox changes.