Antimicrobial action of mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with cefepime and meropenem separately against multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii

The extensive use of antibiotics drives the evolution of drug resistance in pathogenic bacteria clearly. Multidrug-resistance (MDR) is being a major challenge in world public health and A. baumannii is becoming an increasingly important human pathogen due to the emergence of MDR strains. In this study, amine-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN-NH2) was synthesized and loaded by cefepime (CEF) and meropenem (MEP) as antibiotic drugs. The results showed a high loading efficiency of the CEF and MEP into MSN-NH2 (MSN-NH2-CEF and MSN-NH2-MEP). The prepared nanoparticles were fully characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. In order to determine the antibacterial action of MSN-NH2-CEF and MSN-NH2-MEP against MDR A. baumannii, the broth microdilution and well diffusion method were used. The antimicrobial test results against MDR A. baumannii isolate were showed that drug-loaded MSN-NH2 more effective than the free drug. The results of the present study demonstrated that MSN-NH2-CEF and MSN-NH2-MEP potentiate antimicrobial activity than free drugs and enhanced the possibility of combat against A. baumannii isolate.

Automated summary

The study successfully synthesized mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with cefepime and meropenem, showing better antimicrobial activity against MDR A. baumannii isolates compared with free drugs.