<p>Antibacterial Activity of Chitosan Nanoparticles Against Pathogenic N. gonorrhoea</p>

Abstract

The emergence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains that are resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics represents a great concern for global public health. This challenges the effectiveness of clinical treatment regimens and demands the development of alternative antigonococcal agent. In this regard, chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) are known to have antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens. Thus, they have become a potential candidate for combatting this era of multi-drug resistance. This study aims to formulate CNPs, characterize their physicochemical properties, and examine their antimicrobial activity against gonococcus. Materials and Methods: The ionic gelation method was used to prepare CNPs of different concentrations. Characterization for their particle size (PZ), polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ZP) was performed. The anti-microbial activity of CNPs was investigated against 13 WHO N. gonorrhoeae reference strains, using the broth dilution method. Cytotoxicity of CNPs and their effect on bacterial adhesion to HeLa cells were investigated. Results: The average PZ and ZP of the prepared NPs were increased when the concentration of chitosan was increased from 1 to 5 mg/mL and found to be in the range of 193 nm ± 1.9 to 530 nm ± 13.3, and 14 mV ± 0.5 to 20 mV ± 1, respectively. Transmission electron microscopes (TEM) images revealed spherical NPs, and the NPs had a low PDI value of ≤0.27. The formed CNPs produced antibacterial activity against all tested strains, including those resistant to multiple antibiotics, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC 90) of 0.16 to 0.31 mg/ mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 0.31 to 0.61 mg/mL. Of note, at all MIC 90 and MBC, the CNPs had no significant cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells and reduced bacterial adhesion to these cells at MBC doses. Conclusion: The present work findings suggest the potential of the CNPs for the treatment of gonorrhoea.

Chitosan Nanoparticles-Insight into Properties, Functionalization and Applications in Drug Delivery and Theranostics

“…The gap of discovering new alternatives with regards to the emerging existing resistance to clinically prescribed antibiotics can be overcome by smart scientific exploitation and application of these chitosan properties. The antibacterial activity of chitosan NPs was examined against all strains of N. gonorrhea , including those resistant to multiple antibiotics, the results indicated chitosan NPs to inhibit growth with minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.16 to 0.31 mg/mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 0.31 to 0.61 mg/mL and no significant cytotoxicity [ 11 , 12 ].…”

Resistance and Adaptation of Bacteria to Non-Antibiotic Antibacterial Agents: Physical Stressors, Nanoparticles, and Bacteriophages

“…Chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) also possess antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens. CNPs are prepared by ionic gelation of different concentrations [ 116 ]. CNPs loaded with ampicillin, penicillin or diclofenac sodium show increased antibacterial properties [ 117 ].…”

Inorganic and Polymeric Nanoparticles for Human Viral and Bacterial Infections Prevention and Treatment

“…Most studies have been focused on the treatment of N. gonorrhoeae infection. In this sense, Ag NPs plus ceftriaxone [ 205 ], mercaptonitrobenzoic acid-coated Ag nanoclusters [ 206 ], and chitosan NPs [ 207 ] showed a great anti-gonococcal effect with minimal cytotoxicity. It has been also reported that PDGFR-β siRNA-PEI-PLGA-PEG NP significantly reduced the intracellular C. trachomatis concentration and bacterial extracellular release from infected cells more than 65% for both of them, while augmenting autophagic degradation and reducing bacterial binding in vitro [ 208 ].…”