In this study, the antibacterial, anti-efflux, anti-biofilm, anti-slime (exopolysaccharide) production and urease inhibitory efficacies of green synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated Anthemis atropatana extract against multidrug- resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were evaluated. The green synthesized AuNPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), particle size distribution, zeta potential and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Then, antibacterial, anti-slime (exopolysaccharide) production, anti-biofilm and anti-efflux activities of AuNPs were investigated using micro-dilation, Congored agar, microtiter plate and MIC of ethidium bromide methods, respectively. Subsequently, the expression of mrkA, wzm and acrB genes was evaluated using quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR). The synthesized AuNPs exhibited antibacterial activity against MDR strains of K. pneumoniae (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 6.25-50 µg/ml), as well as showed significant anti-slime (exopolysaccharide) production, anti-biofilm and anti-efflux activities against MDR strains. AuNPs showed significant inhibition against jack-bean urease and down-regulated the expression of mrkA, wzm and acrB genes. Moreover, the in vitro cytotoxic activity confirmed by MTT assay on the HEK-293 normal cell line showed negligible cytotoxicity. Thus, the present study suggests the potential use of AuNPs in the development of novel therapeutics for the prevention of biofilm-associated K. pneumoniae infections.
Keywords: Anti-biofilm; Antibacterial; Gold nanoparticles; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Multidrug- resistant.