Nature Sub-Journal: Will nano-silver particles (antibacterial agents) cause bacterial resistance?

Antibacterial agents are used to kill or slow down the growth of bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms

One of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance is the abuse and overuse of antimicrobials, including silver nanoparticles, an advanced material with well-proven antimicrobial properties

The Gilbertson group at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering used E.

"The resistance of bacteria to silver nanoparticles is still under investigation, so our team has studied the mechanism behind this incident," said Lisa Stabryla, the first author of the paper and a doctoral student

Stabryla exposed E.

Stabryla said: "In the beginning, bacteria can only survive in low concentrations of silver nanoparticles, but as the experiment continued, we found that they can survive at higher doses

The research team sequenced the genome of Escherichia coli that had been exposed to silver nanoparticles and found a mutation in its gene, which corresponds to the efflux pump that expels heavy metal ions from the cell

She added: “It is possible that some form of silver has entered the cell, and when it arrives, the cell mutates and expels it quickly

The research team then studied two different types of Escherichia coli: one is a super-motile strain, which swims faster in the environment than normal moving bacteria; the other is a non-motile strain, which has no physical means to move

Stabryla said: "This finding may indicate that silver nanoparticles may be a good choice for specific types of bacteria, especially non-moving strains

In the end, bacteria will still find a way to evolve and escape antibiotics

Assistant Professor Leanne Gilbertson said: “We are the first to study the effect of bacterial movement on the drug resistance of silver nanoparticles

"This result is promising to adjust particle properties to obtain the desired response, such as avoiding drug resistance while maintaining high efficiency

Role of bacterial motility in differential resistance mechanisms of silver nanoparticles and silver ions

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