Synergistic and Antagonistic Effects of Biogenic Silver Nanoparticles in Combination With Antibiotics Against Some Pathogenic Microbes.

Kawther Aabed,Afrah E Mohammed

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.652362

Kawther Aabed, Afrah E Mohammed

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2021.652362

Copy DOI

Abstract

The latest advances in green nanoparticle synthesis have preserved natural and non-renewable resources and decreased environmental pollution. The current study was designed to evaluate silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) fabricated using aqueous extracts of two medicinal plants, Anastatica hierochuntica L. (Kaff Maryam) and Artemisia absinthium. The phytochemicals were detected by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The effects of the AgNPs on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans as well as the cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells were examined. The synergistic and antagonistic effects of the biogenic AgNPs in combination with standard antibiotics against several microbes were also investigated. The ability of the plant extracts to transfer silver ions to AgNPs was measured via dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurement, and transmission electron microscopy. The most sensitive microbes to AgNP treatment were examined via scanning electron microscopy to assess morphological changes. Biogenic AgNPs showed significant antibacterial effects against most of the tested microbes and significant cytotoxicity was noted. Polysaccharides, proteins and Phenolic compounds are likely involved in AgNP biosynthesis since hydroxyl groups and amides were detected via FTIR as well as GC-MS. This study confirmed that plant-based AgNP fabrication with AgNO3 as the Ag (I) delivering salt can be an economical and practical approach for large-scale production of particles with antimicrobial and cytotoxic potential. The synergistic effects of biogenic AgNPs in combination with some antibiotics support their potential as a safe therapeutic for bacterial infections because they are capped with organic biomolecules.

Highlights

Nanotechnology has emerged as a rapidly developing research field in materials science with the potential to positively affect human health (Singh et al, 2010)
Addition of the plant extracts to a solution of AgNO3 yielded mixtures that changed from pale yellow to brown-yellow for An-AgNPs and Ar-AgNPs prepared from A. hierochuntica (An) (Supplementary Files A,B) and A. absinthium (Ar) extracts (Supplementary Files C,D)
The use of biogenic agents for nanoparticle formation is a remarkable advance in nanoscience that yields safe and stable nanostructures capped with biomolecules

Summary

Introduction

Nanotechnology has emerged as a rapidly developing research field in materials science with the potential to positively affect human health (Singh et al, 2010). Because silver ions have been shown to have no significant effects on cell viability, silver-containing materials can be used in textiles and as additives in food and packaging to eliminate microbes Due to their varied useful applications as antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents, multiple forms of silver, including silver ions and silver nanoparticles, have been developed (David et al, 2010). A. absinthium contains caffeoyl and dicaffeoylquinic acids, which can prevent HIV-1 integrase from incorporating viral DNA into the host genome (Reinke et al, 2002) These properties inspired our rationale for using these plant sources as biomediators in AgNP formation with the expectation that the resulting AgNPs would have higher antimicrobial activity than the plant extracts and silver ions alone. The efficacy of the resulting AgNPs in inhibiting the growth of bacterial and fungal pathogens alone and in combination with antibiotics was investigated

Methods

Results

Conclusion