Inhibition of Mixed Biofilms of Candida albicans and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Positively Charged Silver Nanoparticles and Functionalized Silicone Elastomers
| dc.contributor.author | Lara, Humberto H. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lopez-Ribot, Jose L. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-04-19T15:22:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-04-19T15:22:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-09-25 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2021-04-19T15:22:53Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Both bacterial and fungal organisms display the ability to form biofilms; however, mixed bacterial/fungal biofilms are particularly difficult to control and eradicate. The opportunistic microbial pathogens Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus are among the most frequent causative agents of healthcare-acquired infections, and are often co-isolated forming mixed biofilms, especially from contaminated catheters. These mixed species biofilms display a high level of antibiotic resistance; thus, these infections are challenging to treat resulting in excess morbidity and mortality. In the absence of effective conventional antibiotic treatments, nanotechnology-based approaches represent a promising alternative for the treatment of highly recalcitrant polymicrobial biofilm infections. Our group has previously reported on the activity of pure positively charged silver nanoparticles synthesized by a novel microwave technique against single-species biofilms of C. albicans and S. aureus. Here, we have expanded our observations to demonstrate that that silver nanoparticles display dose-dependent activity against dual-species C. albicans/S. aureus biofilms. Moreover, the same nanoparticles were used to functionalize catheter materials, leading to the effective inhibition of the mixed fungal/bacterial biofilms. Overall, our results indicate the potent activity of silver nanoparticles against these cross-kingdom biofilms. More studies are warranted to examine the ability of functionalized catheters in the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infections. | |
| dc.description.department | Molecular Microbiology and Immunology | |
| dc.identifier | doi: 10.3390/pathogens9100784 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Pathogens 9 (10): 784 (2020) | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/521 | |
| dc.rights | Attribution 4.0 United States | |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | |
| dc.subject | Staphylococcus aureus | |
| dc.subject | Candida albicans | |
| dc.subject | mixed fungal/bacterial biofilms | |
| dc.subject | catheter infections | |
| dc.subject | silver nanoparticles | |
| dc.title | Inhibition of Mixed Biofilms of Candida albicans and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Positively Charged Silver Nanoparticles and Functionalized Silicone Elastomers | |
| dc.type | Article |