Antibacterial activity of iron oxide, iron nitride, and tobramycin conjugated nanoparticles against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

Abstract

Positive inhibition is reported for uncapped and alginate-capped iron-oxide NPs, and the corresponding MICs are presented. We report zero susceptibility to iron-oxide NPs capped with polyethylene glycol, suggesting that the capping agent plays a major role in enabling bactericidal ability in of the nanocomposite. Our findings suggest that the alginate-coated nanocomposites investigated in this study have the potential to overcome the bacterial biofilm barrier. Magnetic field application increases the action, likely via enhanced diffusion of the iron-oxide NPs and NP-drug conjugates through mucin and alginate barriers, which are characteristic of cystic-fibrosis respiratory infections. We demonstrate that iron-oxide NPs coated with alginate, as well as alginate-coated magnetite-tobramycin conjugates inhibit P. aeruginosa growth and biofilm formation in established colonies. We have also determined that susceptibility to tobramycin decreases for longer culture times. However, susceptibility to the iron-oxide NP compounds did not demonstrate any comparable decrease with increasing culture time. These findings imply that iron-oxide NPs are promising lower-cost alternatives to silver NPs in antibacterial coatings, solutions, and drugs, as well as other applications in which microbial abolition or infestation prevention is sought.