Hesperidin-, Curcumin-, and Amphotericin B- Based Nano-Formulations as Potential Antibacterials

Noor Akbar; Muhammad Kawish; Naveed Ahmed Khan; Muhammad Raza Shah; Ahmad M Alharbi; Hasan Alfahemi; Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui

doi:10.3390/antibiotics11050696

Hesperidin-, Curcumin-, and Amphotericin B- Based Nano-Formulations as Potential Antibacterials

Antibiotics (Basel). 2022 May 20;11(5):696. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11050696.

Authors

Noor Akbar¹, Muhammad Kawish², Naveed Ahmed Khan³, Muhammad Raza Shah², Ahmad M Alharbi⁴, Hasan Alfahemi⁵, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates.
² International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan.
³ Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Taif 26521, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha 65799, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

To combat the public health threat posed by multiple-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, new drugs with novel chemistry and modes of action are needed. In this study, several drugs including Hesperidin (HES), curcumin (CUR), and Amphotericin B (AmpB) drug-nanoparticle formulations were tested for antibacterial strength against MDR Gram-positive bacteria, including Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli K1, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, and Serratia marcescens. Nanoparticles were synthesized and subjected to Atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, and Zetasizer for their detailed characterization. Antibacterial assays were performed to determine their bactericidal efficacy. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays were carried out to measure drugs' and drug-nanoparticles' cytotoxic effects on human cells. Spherical NPs ranging from 153 to 300 nm were successfully synthesized. Results from antibacterial assays revealed that drugs and drug-nanoparticle formulations exerted bactericidal activity against MDR bacteria. Hesperidin alone failed to exhibit antibacterial effects but, upon conjugation with cinnamic-acid-based magnetic nanoparticle, exerted significant bactericidal activity against both the Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates. AmpB-LBA-MNPs produced consistent, potent antibacterial efficacy (100% kill) against all Gram-positive bacteria. AmpB-LBA-MNPs showed strong antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Intriguingly, all the drugs and their conjugated counterpart except AmpB showed minimal cytotoxicity against human cells. In summary, these innovative nanoparticle formulations have the potential to be utilized as therapeutic agents against infections caused by MDR bacteria and represent a significant advancement in our effort to counter MDR bacterial infections.

Keywords: antibacterial activity; cytotoxicity; infectious diseases; multidrug resistance; nanoparticles.

Abstract

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