Surfactin-Conjugated Silver Nanoparticles as an Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Agent against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>
Lutfur Rahman, Yasra Sarwar, Shazia Khaliq, Inayatullah, Wasim Abbas, Ameena Mobeen, Ata Ullah, Syed Zajif Hussain, Waheed S. Khan, Maria Eleni Kyriazi, Irshad Hussaın, Antonios G. Kanaras, Asma Rehman
Abstract
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is an alarming global health concern and has stimulated the development of novel functional nanomaterials to combat multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time the synthesis and application of surfactin-coated silver nanoparticles as an efficient antibacterial and antibiofilm agent against the drug-resistant bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa for safe dermal applications. Our in vivo studies showed no significant superficial dermal irritation, edema, and erythema, while microscopic analysis revealed that surfactin-coated silver nanoparticles caused no pathological alterations at the applied concentrations. These results support the potential use of surfactin-coated silver nanoparticles against drug-resistant bacterial biofilm infections and in skin wound dressing applications.