Functional Silver Nanoparticle as a Benign Antimicrobial Agent That Eradicates Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Promotes Wound Healing.
With the increased prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria infections, there is a pressed need for innovative antimicrobial agent. Here, we report a benign ε-polylysine/silver nanoparticle nanocomposite (EPL-g-butyl@AgNPs) with polyvalent and synergistic antibacterial effects. EPL-g-butyl@AgNPs exhibited good stability in aqueous solution and effective antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative (P. aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteria without emergence of bacterial resistance. Importantly, the nanocomposites eradicated the antibiotic-resistant bacteria without toxicity to mammalian cells. Analysis of the antibacterial mechanism confirmed that the nanocomposites adhered to the bacterial surface, irreversibly disrupted the membrane structure of the bacteria, subsequently penetrated cells, and effectively inhibited protein activity, which ultimately led to bacteria apoptosis. Notably, the nanocomposites modulated the relative level of CD3+T cells and CD68+macrophages and effectively promoted infected wound healing in diabetic rats. This work improves our understanding of the antibacterial mechanism of AgNPs-based nanocomposites and offers guidance to activity prediction and rational design of effective antimicrobial nanoparticles.
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Xiaomei
X
Dai
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Qianqian
Q
Guo
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Yu
Y
Zhao
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Peng
P
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Tianqi
T
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Xinge
X
Zhang
Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, Nankai University , Tianjin 300071, China.
Chaoxing
C
Li
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D051381:Rats; D012834:Silver; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D014945:Wound Healing
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D012834:Silver
antibacterial mechanism; antibiotic-resistant bacteria; nanocomposites; silver nanoparticles; wound healing