Abstract
Wound infection is a serious threat to patients, in particular those with septic wound infections, which result in high mortality rates. Moreover, the treatment of wound infections with antimicrobial-resistant and/or biofilm-forming pathogens can be challenging. Nisin, a potent antimicrobial against Gram-positive bacterial pathogens, has been used in the food industry as a preservative for decades. Silver has been approved by the FDA as a topical antimicrobial. Here, we show that silver-nisin nanoparticles (Ag-nisin NP), with an average diameter of 60 nm, can be quickly synthesized with the assistance of a simple microwave. Ag-nisin NP act as bactericidal antibiotics against the tested pathogens. In contrast, resistance was observed in S. aureus and A. baumannii that were treated with silver nitrate alone. In addition, Ag-nisin NP showed potent antibiofilm activity against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, and E. coli, which are pathogens occurring in wound infections. Notably, the synthesized Ag-nisin NP showed lower cytotoxicity than silver nitrate to human cells. This formulation provides an alternative and safe measurement for biofilm-infected wound control.
Highlights
The skin plays a critical role in keeping microorganisms away from the underlying tissues of the human body
The synthesis of Ag-nisin NP was performed with different concen trations of nisin and different microwave irradiation times, and the size of the products was determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS)
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) assay was used to investigate the morphology of Agnisin NP, and the results show that Ag-nisin NP with an irregular morphology was obtained (Fig. 2a)
Summary
The skin plays a critical role in keeping microorganisms away from the underlying tissues of the human body. Previous studies demonstrated that Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli are major contributors to wound in fections [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, including multi-drug resistant P. aeruginosa (MDR PA), A. baumannii (MDR AB) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), are playing an important role in the high morbidity and mortality rate of wound infections [4]. Even more seriously, these major contributors (S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, and E. coli) usually form biofilms in the infected wound, and these biofilms make wound infections more diffi cult to treat [6]. New alternatives are required to therapeutic treat wound infections
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