Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent: a case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria

/pdf/antimicrobial-effects-of-silver-nanoparticles-57y1xrlo33.pdf

Antimicrobial effects of silver nanoparticles

Nanomaterials, such as metal or semiconductor nanoparticles and nanorods, exhibit similar dimensions to those of biomolecules, such as proteins (enzymes, antigens, antibodies) or DNA. The integration of nanoparticles, which exhibit unique electronic, photonic, and catalytic properties, with biomaterials, which display unique recognition, catalytic, and inhibition properties, yields novel hybrid nanobiomaterials of synergetic properties and functions. This review describes recent advances in the synthesis of biomolecule-nanoparticle/nanorod hybrid systems and the application of such assemblies in the generation of 2D and 3D ordered structures in solutions and on surfaces. Particular emphasis is directed to the use of biomolecule-nanoparticle (metallic or semiconductive) assemblies for bioanalytical applications and for the fabrication of bioelectronic devices.

Integrated Nanoparticle–Biomolecule Hybrid Systems: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications

The major strategies for designing surfaces that prevent fouling due to proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms are reviewed. Biofouling is of great concern in numerous applications ranging from biosensors to biomedical implants and devices, and from food packaging to industrial and marine equipment. The two major approaches to combat surface fouling are based on either preventing biofoulants from attaching or degrading them. One of the key strategies for imparting adhesion resistance involves the functionalization of surfaces with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or oligo(ethylene glycol). Several alternatives to PEG-based coatings have also been designed over the past decade. While protein-resistant coatings may also resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation, in order to overcome the fouling-mediated risk of bacterial infection it is highly desirable to design coatings that are bactericidal. Traditional techniques involve the design of coatings that release biocidal agents, including antibiotics, quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), and silver, into the surrounding aqueous environment. However, the emergence of antibiotic- and silver-resistant pathogenic strains has necessitated the development of alternative strategies. Therefore, other techniques based on the use of polycations, enzymes, nanomaterials, and photoactive agents are being investigated. With regard to marine antifouling coatings, restrictions on the use of biocide-releasing coatings have made the generation of nontoxic antifouling surfaces more important. While considerable progress has been made in the design of antifouling coatings, ongoing research in this area should result in the development of even better antifouling materials in the future.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/adma.201001215

Antifouling coatings: recent developments in the design of surfaces that prevent fouling by proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms.

Immobilization is often the key to optimizing the operational performance of an enzyme in industrial processes, particularly for use in non-aqueous media. Different methods for the immobilization of enzymes are critically reviewed. The methods are divided into three main categories, viz. (i) binding to a prefabricated support (carrier), (ii) entrapment in organic or inorganic polymer matrices, and (iii) cross-linking of enzyme molecules. Emphasis is placed on relatively recent developments, such as the use of novel supports, e.g., mesoporous silicas, hydrogels, and smart polymers, novel entrapment methods and cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs).

http://largens.com/biochemlab/peroxidase2.pdf

Enzyme immobilization: The quest for optimum performance

The control of microbial infections is a very important issue in modern society. In general there are two ways to stop microbes from infecting humans or deteriorating materials—disinfection and antimicrobial surfaces. The first is usually realized by disinfectants, which are a considerable environmental pollution problem and also support the development of resistant microbial strains. Antimicrobial surfaces are usually designed by impregnation of materials with biocides that are released into the surroundings whereupon microbes are killed. Antimicrobial polymers are the up and coming new class of disinfectants, which can be used even as an alternative to antibiotics in some cases. Interestingly, antimicrobial polymers can be tethered to surfaces without losing their biological activity, which enables the design of surfaces that kill microbes without releasing biocides. The present review considers the working mechanisms of antimicrobial polymers and of contact-active antimicrobial surfaces based on examples of recent research as well as on multifunctional antimicrobial materials.

/pdf/antimicrobial-polymers-in-solution-and-on-surfaces-overview-3h097ied5i.pdf

Antimicrobial Polymers in Solution and on Surfaces: Overview and Functional Principles

https://kops.uni-konstanz.de/bitstream/handle/123456789/9633/2002_ChemComm_3018_SilverNanoparticles.pdf;sequence=1

Hybrids of silver nanoparticles with amphiphilic hyperbranched macromolecules exhibiting antimicrobial properties.

Quaternary-ammonium-compounds are potent cationic antimicrobials used in everyday consumer products. Surface-immobilized, quaternary-ammonium-compounds create an antimicrobial contact-killing coating. We describe the preparation of a shape-adaptive, contact-killing coating by tethering quaternary-ammonium-compounds onto hyperbranched polyurea coatings, able to kill adhering bacteria by partially enveloping them. Even after extensive washing, coatings caused high contact-killing of Staphylococcus epidermidis, both in culture-based assays and through confocal-laser-scanning-microscopic examination of the membrane-damage of adhering bacteria. In culture-based assays, at a challenge of 1600 CFU/cm(2), contact-killing was >99.99%. The working-mechanism of dissolved quaternary-ammonium-compounds is based on their interdigitation in bacterial membranes, but it is difficult to envisage how immobilized quaternary-ammonium-molecules can exert such a mechanism of action. Staphylococcal adhesion forces to hyperbranched quaternary-ammonium coatings were extremely high, indicating that quaternary-ammonium-molecules on hyperbranched polyurea partially envelope adhering bacteria upon contact. These lethally strong adhesion forces upon adhering bacteria then cause removal of membrane lipids and eventually lead to bacterial death.

Joerg C. Tiller

Papers

Antimicrobial Polymers in Solution and on Surfaces: Overview and Functional Principles

Hybrids of silver nanoparticles with amphiphilic hyperbranched macromolecules exhibiting antimicrobial properties.

A Shape‐Adaptive, Antibacterial‐Coating of Immobilized Quaternary‐Ammonium Compounds Tethered on Hyperbranched Polyurea and its Mechanism of Action

Nanoseparated polymeric networks with multiple antimicrobial properties

Increasing the Local Concentration of Drugs by Hydrogel Formation