Zinc oxide nanoparticles conjugated with clinically-approved medicines as potential antibacterial molecules

AMB Express

Noor Akbar¹  Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui¹  Naveed Ahmed Khan²  Zara Aslam³  Muhammad Raza Shah³ 

[1] College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, University City, 26666, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, University City, 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, 75270, Karachi, Pakistan;

关键词: Antibiotic resistance;    Infectious diseases;    ZnO-nanoparticles;    Cytotoxicity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13568-021-01261-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

At present, antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing issues in healthcare globally. The development of new medicine for clinical applications is significantly less than the emergence of multiple drug-resistant bacteria, thus modification of existing medicines is a useful avenue. Among several approaches, nanomedicine is considered of potential therapeutic value. Herein, we have synthesized Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) conjugated with clinically-approved drugs (Quercetin, Ceftriaxone, Ampicillin, Naringin and Amphotericin B) with the aim to evaluate their antibacterial activity against several Gram-positive (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli K1, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria. The nanoparticles and their drug conjugates were characterized using UV-visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Antibacterial activity was performed by dilution colony forming unit method and finally 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were performed to determine their cytotoxic effects against human cell lines. ZnO-NPs revealed maxima surface plasmon resonance band at 374 and after conjugation with beta-cyclodextrin at 379 nm, polydispersity with size in range of 25–45 nm with pointed shaped morphology. When conjugated with ZnO-NPs, drug efficacy against MDR bacteria was enhanced significantly. In particular, Ceftriaxone- and Ampicillin-conjugated ZnO-NPs exhibited potent antibacterial effects. Conversely, ZnO-NPs and drugs conjugated NPs showed negligible cytotoxicity against human cell lines except Amphotericin B (57% host cell death) and Amphotericin B-conjugated with ZnO-NPs (37% host cell death). In conclusion, the results revealed that drugs loaded on ZnO-NPs offer a promising approach to combat increasingly resistant bacterial infections.

【 授权许可】

CC BY