Antimicrobial effect of gallium nitrate against bacteria encountered in burn wound infections

Abstract

Recently, biomaterials have been increasingly used for burn wound healing, but burn wound infections and biomaterial-associated infections still need to be addressed. As a novel inorganic antimicrobial, the antimicrobial effect of gallium nitrate was investigated, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of gallium nitrate against bacteria that are common in infected burn wounds was determined with a Microbial Viability Assay Kit-WST. The results showed that the MIC of Ga(NO 3 ) 3 against E. coli and E.faecalis was 256 mg mL À1, and it was 512 mg mL À1 against P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, E. cloacae, A.baumannii, S. maltophilia, S. aureus and S. epidermidis. Meanwhile, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) found similar visual evidence of the mechanism by which the gallium ion attacks both Gramnegative and Gram-positive bacteria, which was in agreement with the MIC results. By TEM observation, it was found that detachment of the cell membrane and wall and the appearance of an electron-light region containing condensed substances occurred in both Ga 3+ -treated E. coli and Ga 3+ -treated S.aureus cells, with smaller morphological changes in Ga 3+ -treated S. aureus compared with E. coli. This research shows the effective and wide-spectrum antimicrobial properties of gallium nitrate against most bacteria encountered in burn wound infections. Gallium(III) could be a good choice when fighting an infected burn wound, and it is a promising candidate for modifying biomaterials or medical devices to prevent infection in burn wounds.

Electrophoretic Deposition and Characterization of Functional Coatings Based on an Antibacterial Gallium (III)-Chitosan Complex

“…Even though the chemical similarities of Ga 3+ with Fe 3+ allow its transportation inside the bacteria cell, Ga cannot participate in iron-catalyzed reduction-oxidation reactions. Consequently, microbial death commences due to the damage of DNA molecules, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), or disruption of other essential metabolic processes [18,74].…”

Bismuth Phosphinates in Bi‐Nanocellulose Composites and their Efficacy towards Multi‐Drug Resistant Bacteria

“…Gallium has been explored and utilised as an antimicrobial due to its ‘trojan horse’ nature, mimicking Fe 3+ in the body, with Ga‐siderophore complexes showing broad‐spectrum bactericidal activity . Gallium nitrate has proven antimicrobial efficacy and intravenous Ga(NO 3 ) 3 is currently undergoing clinical trials in adults with cystic fibrosis, who are chronically infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa . There have also been recent reports describing the development of Ga‐containing antimicrobial materials …”

Effect of gallium maltolate on a model of chronic, infected equine distal limb wounds

“…Gallium has been studied extensively as an antimicrobial agent. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]47] The antimicrobial properties of gallium have been attributed to its similarities to ferric iron (Fe 3+ ). These chemical similarities result in uptake by bacteria which ultimately causes bacterial death because gallium cannot be reduced at physiological pH values for metabolic processes, whereas ferric iron can be reduced to ferrous iron.…”