An aluminum lining to the dark cloud of silver resistance: harnessing the power of potent antimicrobial activity of γ-alumina nanoparticles

Abstract

Although a biologically nonessential element in living organisms, aluminum is notably nontoxic to eukaryotic cells and has a venerable history of medicinal use. We demonstrate that polyethylene glycol-coated γ-alumina nanoparticles...

Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Activity of Ultrafine (BiO)2CO3 NPs Functionalized with PVP That Can Overcome the Resistance to Ciprofloxacin, AgNPs and Meropenem in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…We then investigated whether (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs were active against a strain of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA; ATCC 6538) and a strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA; ATCC BAA 44)—gram-positive bacteria that are prone to developing mupirocin and fusidate resistance. Incidentally, we found that AgNPs are completely ineffective against SA bacteria in our studies (MIC > 900 µg/mL) [ 6 , 19 ], while none of the earlier studies have provided evidence that (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs could be active against any gram-positive bacteria [ 20 , 21 ]. Our results showed that (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs exhibit a MIC of 2.0 µg/mL against both DSSA and MRSA ( Table 1 and Figure S2b ), confirming that (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs possess broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.…”

“…41-1488 [ 15 ]. Subsequently, (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs were produced by sonicating this phase-pure bulk sample for 18 h using polyvinylpyrrolidone (MW = 8000 g/mole, PVP-8k) as a surface modifier and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent [ 6 ]. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed that these NPs have an average size of 5.35 ± 0.82 nm ( Figure 1 b).…”

“…Specifically, at the concentration of 3.0 µg/mL, (BiO) 2 CO 3 NPs caused the growth reduction of DSSA bacteria by a 3.5 − log of CFUs, while at the same concentration, Bi(NO 3 ) 3 only caused a slight reduction in CFUs (<<1 − log). It should be noted that AgNPs were not included in the latter studies as a comparison group because the previous studies repeatedly showed that AgNPs were not active against SA bacteria [ 6 , 13 ].…”

“…Inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) surface-coated with biocompatible and water-soluble polymer shells represent an attractive alternative to both topical and parenteral delivery of insoluble compounds. We have set out to investigate a variety of metal compounds as topical antimicrobial agents to address the unmet clinical need for new topical antimicrobial drugs to treat skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Currently, there are only five topical antibiotics in clinical use for treating SSTIs.…”

Bi2O3 nanoparticles exhibit potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and the ability to overcome Ag-, ciprofloxacin- and meropenem-resistance in P. aeruginosa: the next silver bullet of metal antimicrobials?

“…S1†). 29 This phase-pure bulk powder was then sonicated for 18 h in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (MW avg = 8000 g mol −1 , PVP-8k) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), yielding the final α-Bi 2 O 3 NPs. To confirm the phase-purity of this product, the powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern was measured and compared with that of a simulated α-Bi 2 O 3 pattern (ICSD 15072).…”