Advancement of Gallium and Gallium-Based Compounds as Antimicrobial Agents

Abstract

With the abuse and misuse of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance has become a challenging issue in the medical system. Iatrogenic and non-iatrogenic infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens pose serious threats to global human life and health because the efficacy of traditional antibiotics has been greatly reduced and the resulting socio-economic burden has increased. It is important to find and develop non-antibiotic-dependent antibacterial strategies because the development of new antibiotics can hardly keep pace with the emergence of resistant bacteria. Gallium (III) is a multi-target antibacterial agent that has an excellent antibacterial activity, especially against MDR pathogens; thus, a gallium (III)-based treatment is expected to become a new antibacterial strategy. However, some limitations of gallium ions as antimicrobials still exist, including low bioavailability and explosive release. In recent years, with the development of nanomaterials and clathrates, the progress of manufacturing technology, and the emergence of synergistic antibacterial strategies, the antibacterial activities of gallium have greatly improved, and the scope of application in medical systems has expanded. This review summarizes the advancement of current optimization for these key factors. This review will enrich the knowledge about the efficiency and mechanism of various gallium-based antibacterial agents and provide strategies for the improvement of the antibacterial activity of gallium-based compounds.

Gallium-Based Liquid Metal Materials for Antimicrobial Applications

“…In particular, researchers found that LM antimicrobial agents are not friendly to immunocompromised patients because prolonged use of Ga can lead to reduced immunity [ 134 ]. However, it is worth mentioning that one study has investigated that delivering LM nanodroplets into a macrophage is a potential way to modulate discrete signaling pathways, without interfering with Fe homeostasis from the usage of Ga 3+ [ 135 ].…”

Genome mining to unravel potential metabolic pathways linked to gallium bioleaching ability of bacterial mine isolates

“…Nonetheless, studies indicate that iron metabolism plays an important role in Ga resistance and cellular protection against the potential toxicity of this metal ( Gugala et al, 2019 ; Caldeira et al, 2021 ). It is predominantly assumed that Ga crosses cell membranes using the iron transport systems, in particular the Fe-siderophore transport system, as Ga is considered an iron mimetic ( Gugala et al, 2019 ; Li et al, 2022 ). Among the bacterial strains tested in the current study, the highest Ga resistance was demonstrated by Rhodanobacter sp.…”

Inhibitory effect of gallium nitrate against Staphylococcus aureus and its action on the formation of biofilms on titanium surfaces

“…Among metallic ions, Ga 3+ stands out for being an antimicrobial agent that acts against several targets, in addition to being able to bind to iron-dependent proteins to enter the cell as a "Trojan Horse" and cause an interruption in the enzymatic metabolism of the microorganism (Li et al 2022;Michalska et al 2022). Therefore, due to the increase in arthroplasty and infections associated with these devices by multidrugresistant microorganisms, such as S. aureus, gallium nitrate was used to inhibit planktonic growth and bio lm formation by this important opportunistic pathogen on titanium-based surfaces.…”