Synergistic Antibacterial Potential of Greenly Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles with Fosfomycin Against Some Nosocomial Bacterial Pathogens

Mohammed Mubarak Aljeldah; Mohamed Taha Yassin; Ashraf Abdel-Fattah Mostafa; Mourad A M Aboul-Soud

doi:10.2147/IDR.S394600

Synergistic Antibacterial Potential of Greenly Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles with Fosfomycin Against Some Nosocomial Bacterial Pathogens

Infect Drug Resist. 2023 Jan 6:16:125-142. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S394600. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mohammed Mubarak Aljeldah¹, Mohamed Taha Yassin², Ashraf Abdel-Fattah Mostafa², Mourad A M Aboul-Soud³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Hafr Al Batin, Hafr Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia.
² Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Chair of Medical and Molecular Genetics Research, Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Introduction: A considerable number of morbidities and fatalities occur worldwide as a result of the multidrug resistant microorganisms that cause a high prevalence of nosocomial bacterial infections. Hence, the current investigation was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial potency of green fabricated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) against four different nosocomial pathogens.

Methods: The flower extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa mediated green fabrication of AgNPs and their physicochemical features were scrutinized using different techniques. Antimicrobial activity of the biogenic AgNPs and their synergistic patterns with fosfomycin antibiotic were evaluated using disk diffusion assay.

Results and discussion: UV spectral analysis affirmed the successful formation of AgNPs through the detection of broad absorption band at 395 and 524 nm, indicating the surface plasmon resonance of the biofabricated AgNPs. In this setting, the biofabricated AgNPs demonstrated average particle size of 58.682 nm according to transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrographs. The detected hydrodynamic diameter was higher than that noticed by TEM analysis, recording 72.30 nm in diameter and this could be attributed to the action of capping agents, which was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) analysis. Disk diffusion assay indicated the antibacterial potency of biogenic AgNPs (50 μg/disk) against Enterobacter cloacae, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli strains with relative inhibition zone diameters of 12.82 ± 0.36 mm, 14.54 ± 0.15 mm, 18.35 ± 0.24 mm and 21.69 ± 0.12 mm, respectively. In addition, E. coli was found to be the most susceptible strain to the biogenic AgNPs. However, the highest synergistic pattern of AgNPs-fosfomycin combination was detected against K. pneumonia strain recording relative synergistic percentage of 64.22%. In conclusion, the detected synergistic efficiency of AgNPs and the antibiotic fosfomycin highlight the potential for utilizing this combination in the biofabrication of effective antibacterial agents against nosocomial pathogens.

Keywords: Hibiscus sabdariffa; fosfomycin; green synthesis; resistance; silver nanoparticles; synergism.