Bactericidal Effect of 5-Mercapto-2-nitrobenzoic Acid-Coated Silver Nanoclusters against Multidrug-Resistant <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i>
María Isabel Lucío, Maria Eleni Kyriazi, Joshua W. Hamilton, Diego Batista, Alexander Sheppard, Elisabeth Sams-Dodd, María Victoria Humbert, Irshad Hussaın, Myron Christodoulides, Antonios G. Kanaras
Abstract
. Using an in vitro bactericidal assay, MNBA-AgNCs had been found to show significantly higher anti-gonococcal bioactivity than the antibiotics ceftriaxone and azithromycin and silver nitrate. These nanoclusters were effective against both planktonic bacteria and a gonococcal infection of human cell cultures in vitro. Treatment of human cells in vitro with MNBA-AgNCs did not induce significant release of lactate dehydrogenase, suggesting minimal cytotoxicity to eukaryotic cells. Our results suggest that MNBA-AgNCs hold great potential for topical treatment of localized gonorrhoeae.