Silver Carboxylate as an Antibiotic-Independent Antimicrobial: A Review of Current Formulations, in vitro Efficacy, and Clinical Relevance

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of multi-drug resistant pathogens has led to a renewed focus on the use of silver as an antibiotic-independent antimicrobial. Unfortunately, the use of many silver formulations may be limited by an uncontrolled release of silver with the potential for significant cytotoxic effects. Silver carboxylate (AgCar) has emerged as an alternative formulation of silver with the potential to mitigate these concerns while still displaying significant bactericidal activity. This article reviews the efficacy of silver carboxylate formulations as a promising novel antibiotic-independent antimicrobial. This study was conducted through a search of five electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science) for relevant studies up to September 2022. Searches were conducted for types of “silver carboxylate” formulations. Sources were compiled based on title and abstract and screened for inclusion based on relevance and study design. A review of the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of silver carboxylate was compiled based on this search. Current body of data suggests that silver carboxylate shows promise as an emerging antibiotic-independent antimicrobial, with significant bactericidal effects while minimizing cytotoxicity. Silver carboxylate addresses several of the limitations of more primitive formulations, including controlled dosing and fewer negative effects on eukaryotic cell lines. These factors are concentration-dependent and largely rely on the vehicle system used to deliver it. Although several silver carboxylate-based formulations like titanium dioxide/ polydimethylsiloxane (TiO2/PDMS) matrix-eluting AgCar have shown promising results in vitro, and could potentially be utilized independently or in conjunction with current and future antimicrobial therapies, there is a need for further in vivo studies to validate their overall safety and efficacy profile.

Structural and Spectroscopic Study of New Copper(II) and Zinc(II) Complexes of Coumarin Oxyacetate Ligands and Determination of Their Antimicrobial Activity

“…If release of the metal ion is the basis of this series of complexes activity, then the complexes isolated here may not release their metal ion due to the difference in coordination mode of the Ag(I) complexes to the Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes studied. In the Ag(I) complexes, the oxyacetate ligands bind via a chelating carboxylate mode but in the complexes isolated here, only unidentate bonding is noted [40]. The difference in bonding mode may well have an effect on the release of the metal ion.…”

“…The lack of activity of the Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes studied here against all three species stands in stark contrast to the activity of their Ag(I) analogues. The role of Ag(I) complexes as antimicrobial agents has been postulated to be multifactorial, involving a number of possible mechanisms [40]. One mechanism is related to the controlled release of silver ions at the target site.…”

Multifunctional MXene Nanosheets and Their Applications in Antibacterial Therapy

“…[10,11] It is well known that the development of new drugs often takes a long time, so it is imperative to find antibiotic-independent antimicrobial strategies. [12,13] Over the past decade, various functional nanomaterials have exhibited significant potential in the treatment of bacterial infections. [14] Notable examples include graphene-based nanomaterials, [15,16] metal nanoparticles (NPs), [17] and polymer nanocomposites.…”

Three-Dimensional Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Properties of Alpha Lipoic Acid-Capped Silver Nanoparticle Constructs for Oral Applications

“…Alpha lipoic-acid is five-membered cyclic disulphide tailing a short hydrocarbon chain on one end and a (COO-) carboxylic group on the other, known to be both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory [ 14 ]. While other silver formulations have clinical limitations due to negative effects on eukaryotic cell lines, the COO- group shows reduced cytotoxicity [ 15 ]. Our group has previously examined the utility of alpha lipoic acid capped AgNPs for intra-oral applications by investigating their cytotoxicity on human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) and antibacterial properties on a broad range of oral pathogens in a traditional 2D culture [ 14 ].…”