Abstract
Antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles is gaining importance due its broad spectrum of targets in cell compared to conventional antimicrobial agents. In this context, a UV photo-reduction method was used for the synthesis and the nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized silver nanoparticles was evaluated both in liquid and solid growth media employing various susceptibility assays on Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a ubiquitous bacterium. The dose dependent growth suppression by nanoparticles was studied with well diffusion method. By broth dilution method, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was found to be 2 μg/ml. It was observed that the bactericidal effect depends both on nanoparticle concentration and number of bacteria present. In our study, we could demonstrate the complete antibiofilm activity of silver nanoparticles at a concentration as low as 1 μg/ml. Our observations substantiated the association of reactive oxygen species and cell membrane damage in the antibacterial mechanism of silver nanoparticles. Our findings suggested that these nanoparticles can be exploited towards the development of potential antibacterial coatings for various biomedical and environmental applications.









Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker C, Pradhan A, Pakstis L, Pochan DJ, Shah SI (2005) Synthesis and antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 5:244–249
Bergogne-Berezin E (2004) Pseudomonas and miscellaneous Gram negative bacilli. In: Cohen J, Powderly WG (eds) Infectious diseases, 2nd edn. Edinburgh, Mosby, pp 2203–2226
Bjarnsholt T, Kirketerp-Moller K, Kristiansen S, Phipps R, Nielsen AK, Jensen PO, Hoiby N, Givskov M (2007) Silver against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. APMIS 115:921–928
Cho KH, Park JE, Osaka T, Park SG (2005) The study of antimicrobial activity and preservative effects of nanosilver ingredient. Electrochim Acta 51:956–960
Choi O, Hu Z (2008) Size dependent and reactive oxygen species related nanosilver toxicity to nitrifying bacteria. Environ Sci Technol 42:4583–4588
Djordjevic D, Wiedmann M, McLandsborough LA (2002) Microtiter plate assay for assessment of Listeria monocytogenes biofilm formation. Appl Environ Microbiol 68:2950–2958
Feng QL, Wu J, Chen GQ, Cui FZ, Kim TN, Kim JO (2000) A mechanistic study of the antibacterial effect of silver ions on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. J Biomed Mater Res 52:662–668
Ghandour W, Hubbard JH, Deistung J, Hughes MN, Poole RK (1998) The uptake of silver ions by Escherichia coli K12: toxic effects and interaction with copper ions. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 28:559–565
Gibbins BL (2009) SilvaGard™: antimicrobial silver nanotechnology treatment for medical devices. http://www.acrymed.com/pdf/SilvaGard%20Technical%20Summary.pdf. Cited 12 October 2009
Inoue Y, Hoshino M, Takahashi H, Noguchi T, Murata T, Kanzaki Y, Hamashima H, Sasatsu M (2002) Bactericidal activity of Ag-zeolite mediated by reactive oxygen species under aerated conditions. J Inorg Biochem 92:37–42
Ip M, Lui SL, Poon VKM, Lung I, Burd A (2006) Antimicrobial activities of silver dressings: an in vitro comparison. J Med Microbiol 55:59–63
Kim JS, Kuk E, Yu KN, Kim J, Park SJ, Lee HJ, Kim SH, Park YK, Park YH, Hwang C, Kim Y, Lee Y, Jeong DH, Cho M (2007) Antimicrobial effects of silver nanoparticles. Nanomed Nanotechnol Biol Med 3:95–101
Kong H, Jang J (2008) Antibacterial properties of novel poly (methyl methacrylate) nanofiber containing silver nanoparticles. Langmuir 24:2051–2056
Kora AJ, Manjusha R, Arunachalam J (2009) Superior bactericidal activity of SDS capped silver nanoparticles: synthesis and characterization. Mater Sci Eng, C 29:2104–2109
Lei S, Zhang Z, Dang H (2003) A novel method for preparation of silver nanoparticles. Mater Lett 57:3874–3879
Lok CN, Ho CM, Chen R, He QY, Yu WY, Sun H, Tam PK, Chiu J, Che C (2007) Silver nanoparticles: partial oxidation and antibacterial activities. J Biol Inorg Chem 12:527–534
Lyczak JB, Schechter PJ (2005) Nanocrystalline silver inhibits antibiotic, antiseptic-resistant bacteria. American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Clinical pharmacol Ther P60
May TB, Shinabarger D, Maharaj R, Kato J, Chu TL, Devault JD, Roychoudhury S, Zielinski NA, Berry A, Rothmel TRK, Misra TK, Chakrabarty AM (1991) Alginate synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a key pathogenic factor in chronic pulmonary infections of cystic fibrosis patients. Clin Microbiol Rev 4:191–206
Melaiye A, Youngs WJ (2005) Silver and its application as an antimicrobial agent. Expert Opin Ther Pat 15:125–130
Morones JR, Elechiguerra JL, Camacho A, Holt K, Kouri JB, Ramirez JT, Yacaman MJ (2005) The bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticles. Nanotechnology 16:2346–2353
Pal S, Tak YK, Song JM (2007) Does the antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles depend on the shape of the nanoparticle? A study of the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. Appl Environ Microbiol 73:1712–1720
Panacek A, Kvitek L, Prucek R, Kolar M, Vecerova R, Pizurova N, Sharma VK, Nevecna T, Zboril R (2006) Silver colloid nanoparticles: synthesis, characterization, and their antibacterial activity. J Phys Chem B 110:16248–16253
Pedersen K, Hammer AS, Sorensen CM, Heuer OE (2009) Usage of antimicrobials and occurrence of antimicrobial resistance among bacteria from milk. Vet Microbiol 133:115–122
Prijck KD, Nelis H, Coenye T (2007) Efficacy of silver-releasing rubber for the prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation in water. Biofouling 23:405–411
Raffi M, Hussain F, Bhatti TM, Akhter JI, Hameed A, Hasan MM (2008) Antibacterial characterization of silver nanoparticles against E: coli ATCC-15224. J Mater Sci Technol 24:192–196
Reddy KR, Lee KP, Lee Y, Gopalan AI (2008) Facile synthesis of conducting polymer–metal hybrid nanocomposites by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization with negatively charged metal nanoparticles. Mater Lett 62:1815–1858
Sondi I, Salopek-Sondi B (2004) Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent: a case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria. J Colloid Interface Sci 275:177–182
Stickler D, Hewett P (1991) Activity of antiseptics against biofilms of mixed bacterial species growing on silicone surfaces. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 10:416–421
Tien DC, Tseng KH, Liao CY, Tsung TT (2009) Identification and quantification of ionic silver from colloidal silver prepared by electric spark discharge system and its antimicrobial potency study. J Alloys Compd 473:298–302
Yang FC, Wu KH, Liu MJ, Lin WP, Hu MK (2009) Evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of bamboo charcoal/silver biological protective material. Mater Chem Phys 113:474–479
Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. S. V. Narasimhan, Associate director and Dr. Tulsi Mukherjee, Director, Chemistry group, BARC for their constant support and encouragement for this work.
Conflict of interest
None.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kora, A.J., Arunachalam, J. Assessment of antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles on Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its mechanism of action. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 27, 1209–1216 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0569-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0569-2