Reduced Biofilm Formation of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa by Silver-Modified Iron Oxide

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a nosocomial opportunistic pathogen. Considering the importance of biofilm in pathogenicity and resistance of these bacteria, efforts should be made to find new antibacterial compounds.

The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method and were modified by the AgNO3 reductive solution to investigate influencing of Ag-Fe3O4 nanoparticles on biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa. The synthesized nanoparticles properties were determined by FESEM, DLS, FTIR, XRD and Zeta potential tests.

FESEM and DLS revealed the cubic and smooth structure with average size of 44.36 nm. XRD analyzes confirmed the presence of magnetite core. FTIR spectrum determined the existence of silver plating on the magnetic surface. The Zeta potential results indicated that the magnetic nanoparticle’s surface net charge was 24.4 and the surface net charge for silver modified nanoparticles was -28.3. Finally, after separating 40 isolates of P. aeruginosa among 82 clinical isolates as strong biofilm producers, then the inhibitory effect of synthesised Ag- Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the formation of biofilms was studied using the broth micro-dilution method.

Accordingly, it was proved that Ag-Fe3O4 nanoparticles can be used to treat biofilm infections and were introduced as the new antimicrobial agents