Silver oxynitrate, an unexplored silver compound with antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity.
Historically it has been accepted, and recent research has established, that silver (Ag) is an efficacious antimicrobial agent. A dwindling pipeline of new antibiotics, combined with an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant infections, is bringing Ag to the fore as a therapeutic compound to treat infectious diseases. Currently, many formulations of Ag are being deployed for commercial and medical purposes, with various degrees of effectiveness at killing microbial cells. Here, we evaluated the antimicrobial and antibiofilm capacity of our lead compound, silver oxynitrate [Ag(Ag3O4)2NO3 or Ag7NO11], against other metal compounds with documented antimicrobial activity, including Ag2SO4, AgNO3, silver sulfadiazine (AgSD), AgO, Ag2O, and CuSO4. Our findings reveal that Ag7NO11 eradicates biofilm and planktonic populations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), fluoroquinolone-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (FQRP), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at lower concentrations than those of the other tested metal salts. Altogether, our results demonstrate that Ag7NO11 has an enhanced efficacy for the treatment of biofilm-forming pathogens.
The Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Joe A
JA
Lemire
Exciton Technologies Inc., Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Lindsay
L
Kalan
The Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Alexandru
A
Bradu
The Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada turnerr@ucalgary.ca.
Raymond J
RJ
Turner
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects*; D008670:Metals / Q000494:pharmacology; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009566:Nitrates / Q000494:pharmacology; D018030:Silver Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008670:Metals; D009566:Nitrates; D018030:Silver Compounds