Antibacterial Activity of Wound Healing Spacer Materials Coated with Green Synthesized AgNP-AMP Conjugates against ?ESKAPE? Members of Clinical Isolates from Different Types of Wounds
Author(s): Kuppannan Gobianand, Muhammad Musthafa* and Manohar M
Abstract
Different types of wounds and the complications arising from them including multi-drug resistant bacterial infections cause prolonged morbidities and high rates of mortalities resulting in worsening economic stability and hospital systems in developing countries. The management of wounds is a complex process as they provide typical environment for the colonization of contaminated microorganisms including normal floral members with abundance of nutrients, optimal physical conditions, and lesser resistance by the weaker host immune system. Several different types of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species have been isolated and the infections by the so-called notorious “ESKAPE” pathogens viz. Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter species/ Escherichia coli are more serious because of their extensively drug resistance nature. Silver and its various compounds were used in the management of wounds since time unknown and the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), in recent decades, have shown potential, promising activities against most of the drug-resistant bacterial pathogens. When conjugated with protein-based compounds like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs – which are known for their potential antimicrobial properties), AgNPs were reported to have shown enhanced activities against pathogens. So, the present study was designed to isolate and identify predominant bacterial pathogens from different types of acute and chronic wounds (as accident/trauma, diabetic wounds/ulcers and burn wounds) from the in-patients at a tertiary care hospital and to analyze their responses in in vitro to AgNPs, AMPs, AgNP-AMP conjugates and to the wound healing spacer materials coated with AgNP-AMP conjugates. The results were highly encouraging in observing that the AgNPs, AMPs and their conjugates have shown potential activities against the predominant members of the isolates. When coated with the AgNP-AMP conjugates, the wound healing spacer materials could prevent the bacterial growth with a wider inhibition zone than in any of the other cases. So, we realize and recommend that these materials should be investigated more for the benefit of the communities in developing countries.