Abstract
SummaryIncreasing emergence of drug‐resistant microorganisms poses a great concern to clinicians; thus, new active products are urgently required to treat a number of infectious disease cases. Different metallic and metalloid nanoparticles have so far been reported as possessing antimicrobial properties and proposed as a possible alternative therapy against resistant pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) synthesized by the environmental bacterial isolate Stenotrophomonas maltophilia SeITE02 were shown to exert a clear antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity against different pathogenic bacteria, either reference strains or clinical isolates. Antimicrobial and antibiofilm capacity seems to be strictly linked to the organic cap surrounding biogenic nanoparticles, although the actual role played by this coating layer in the biocidal action remains still undefined. Nevertheless, evidence has been gained that the progressive loss in protein and carbohydrate content of the organic cap determines a decrease in nanoparticle stability. This leads to an alteration of size and electrical properties of SeNPs along with a gradual attenuation of their antibacterial efficacy. Denaturation of the coating layer was proved even to have a negative effect on the antibiofilm activity of these nanoparticles. The pronounced antimicrobial efficacy of biogenic SeNPs compared to the denatured ones can – in first instance – be associated with their smaller dimensions. This study showed that the native organic coating layer of biogenic SeNPs functions in avoiding aggregation and maintaining electrostatic stability of the nanoparticles, thus allowing them to maintain efficient antimicrobial and antibiofilm capabilities.
Highlights
In the last decades, widespread antibiotic treatment of clinical cases due to bacterial and fungal infections has become a threat because of increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within microorganisms that are often able to form fastidious biofilms on tissues and medical devices (Penesyan et al, 2015)
Increasing emergence of drug-resistant microorganisms poses a great concern to clinicians; new active products are urgently required to treat a number of infectious disease cases
Antimicrobial and antibiofilm capacity seems to be strictly linked to the organic cap surrounding biogenic nanoparticles, the actual role played by this coating layer in the biocidal action remains still undefined
Summary
Widespread antibiotic treatment of clinical cases due to bacterial and fungal infections has become a threat because of increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within microorganisms that are often able to form fastidious biofilms on tissues and medical devices (Penesyan et al, 2015) Both aspects represent a serious concern as available antimicrobial drugs have proved to be poorly active or inefficacious giving rise to the emergence of chronic infections and an increase in morbidity and death rate. This has led to a growing awareness that new approaches, including those based on the use of non-antibiotic antibacterial agents, need to be perfected to face the antibiotic resistance challenge (Beyth et al, 2015).
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