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Synthesis, optimization, and characterization of silver nanoparticles from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and their enhanced antibacterial activity when combined with antibiotics

Authors Singh R, Wagh P, Wadhwani S, Gaidhani S, Kumbhar A, Bellare J, Chopade BA

Received 23 May 2013

Accepted for publication 30 June 2013

Published 6 November 2013 Volume 2013:8(1) Pages 4277—4290

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S48913

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 3



Richa Singh,1 Priyanka Wagh,1 Sweety Wadhwani,1 Sharvari Gaidhani,2 Avinash Kumbhar,3 Jayesh Bellare,4 Balu Ananda Chopade1

1Department of Microbiology, University of Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India; 2Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, University of Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India; 3Department of Chemistry, University of Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India; 4Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Background: The development of nontoxic methods of synthesizing nanoparticles is a major step in nanotechnology to allow their application in nanomedicine. The present study aims to biosynthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using a cell-free extract of Acinetobacter spp. and evaluate their antibacterial activity.
Methods: Eighteen strains of Acinetobacter were screened for AgNP synthesis. AgNPs were characterized using various techniques. Reaction parameters were optimized, and their effect on the morphology of AgNPs was studied. The synergistic potential of AgNPs on 14 antibiotics against seven pathogens was determined by disc-diffusion, broth-microdilution, and minimum bactericidal concentration assays. The efficacy of AgNPs was evaluated as per the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) breakpoints of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines.
Results: Only A. calcoaceticus LRVP54 produced AgNPs within 24 hours. Monodisperse spherical nanoparticles of 8–12 nm were obtained with 0.7 mM silver nitrate at 70°C. During optimization, a blue-shift in ultraviolet-visible spectra was seen. X-ray diffraction data and lattice fringes (d =0.23 nm) observed under high-resolution transmission electron microscope confirmed the crystallinity of AgNPs. These AgNPs were found to be more effective against Gram-negative compared with Gram-positive microorganisms. Overall, AgNPs showed the highest synergy with vancomycin in the disc-diffusion assay. For Enterobacter aerogenes, a 3.8-fold increase in inhibition zone area was observed after the addition of AgNPs with vancomycin. Reduction in MIC and minimum bactericidal concentration was observed on exposure of AgNPs with antibiotics. Interestingly, multidrug-resistant A. baumannii was highly sensitized in the presence of AgNPs and became susceptible to antibiotics except cephalosporins. Similarly, the vancomycin-resistant strain of Streptococcus mutans was also found to be susceptible to antibiotic treatment when AgNPs were added. These biogenic AgNPs showed significant synergistic activity on the β-lactam class of antibiotics.
Conclusion: This is the first report of synthesis of AgNPs using A. calcoaceticus LRVP54 and their significant synergistic activity with antibiotics resulting in increased susceptibility of multidrug-resistant bacteria evaluated as per MIC breakpoints of the CLSI standard.

Keywords: Ag nanoparticles, lattice fringes, disc-diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration, synergistic activity

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