Enhanced Antibacterial, Anti-biofilm and Antioxidant (ROS) Activities of Biomolecules Engineered Silver Nanoparticles Against Clinically Isolated Gram Positive and Gram Negative Microbial Pathogens

Biomolecule-coated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using ten different medicinal plants and studied their antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity against selected clinically isolated microbial pathogens. Though the bioengineer AgNPs showed effective antibacterial activity, the maximum rate of growth inhibition was recorded in liquid medium. A potential anti-biofilm activity was determined using biomolecule-coated AgNPs derived from Centella asiatica, Plumbago zeylanica and Semecarpus anacardium against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Results strongly suggest that bioengineered AgNPs at lower doses can be used for the treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections with biofilm formation. Further, the XTT assay exhibited an increased level of reactive oxygen species production in bacterial strains treated with bioengineered AgNPs using 10 plant species. Present results clearly indicate that biomolecule-coated AgNPs could be used as effective nanodrug for treatment of infectious diseases caused by multidrug resistant bacterial strains in the near future.