Synthesis of Antimicrobial Gallium Nanoparticles Using the Hot Injection Method

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance continues to be an ongoing problem in global public health despite interventions to reduce antibiotic overuse. Furthermore, it threatens to undo the achievements and progress of modern medicine. To address these issues, the development of new alternative treatments is needed. Metallic nanoparticles have become an increasingly attractive alternative due to their unique physicochemical properties that allow for different applications and their various mechanisms of action. In this study, gallium nanoparticles (Ga NPs) were tested against several clinical strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (DFU53, 364077, and 365707) and multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB). The results showed that Ga NPs did not inhibit bacterial growth when tested against the bacterial strains using a broth microdilution assay, but they exhibited effects in biofilm production in P. aeruginosa DFU53. Furthermore, as captured by atomic force microscopy imaging, P. aeruginosa DFU53 and MRAB biofilms underwent morphological changes, appearing rough and irregular when they were treated with Ga NPs. Although Ga NPs did not affect planktonic bacterial growth, their effects on both biofilm formation and established biofilm demonstrate their potential role in the race to combat antibiotic resistance, especially in biofilm-related infections.

Single-step fabrication of liquid gallium nanoparticles via capillary interaction for dynamic structural colours

“…Thus far, however, scaling down Ga structures to the nanoscale has remained challenging, owing to its large surface tension (708 mN m −1 ) at room temperature 36 , which prevents precise fabrication of sub-100 nm feature dimensions required for application in the visible domain. The few attempts to fabricate sub-100 nm size Ga nanoparticles still require chemical methods, and the resultant nanoparticles are dispersed in a liquid medium [37][38][39] .…”

Innovations in Bioengineering Virtual Special Issue

“…The webinar featured talks from Prof. Molly Stevens and Prof. Ali Khademhosseini and is available on demand ( go.acs.org/OV ). As highlighted in Figure , this new virtual special issue includes papers on antimicrobials, gene and therapeutic delivery, − model systems and organs on a chip, − biomineralization and biopolymer synthesis, , regenerative medicine and scaffolds for tissue engineering, − and sensors. , Our authors come from around the worldAustralia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Statesand include leaders in the field alongside quite a number of rising stars. We were delighted with the insights revealed in this collection of papers.…”