Multipathway Antibacterial Mechanism of a Nanoparticle-Supported Artemisinin Promoted by Nitrogen Plasma Treatment

Abstract

Artemisinin has excellent antimalarial, antiparasitic, and antibacterial activities; however, the poor water solubility of artemisinin crystal limits their application in antibiosis. Herein, artemisinin crystal was first composited with silica nanoparticles (SNPs) to form an artemisinin@silica nanoparticle (A@SNP). After treating with nitrogen plasma, the aqueous solubility of plasma-treated A@SNP (A@SNP-p) approaches 42.26%, which is possibly attributed to the exposure of hydrophilic groups such as −OH groups on the SNPs during the plasma process. Compared with the pristine A@SNP, the antibacterial activity of A@SNP-p against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains is further enhanced, and its bactericidal rate against both strains exceeded 6 log CFU/mL (>99.9999%), which is contributed by the increased water solubility of the A@SNP-p. A possible multipathway antibacterial mechanism of A@SNP was proposed and preliminarily proved by the changes of intracellular materials of bacteria and the inhibition of bacterial metabolism processes, including the HMP pathway in Gram-negative strain and EMP pathway in Gram-positive strain, after treating with A@SNP-p. These findings from the present work will provide a new view for fabricating artemisinin-based materials as antibiotics.

Effect of Artemisinin-Loaded Mesoporous Cerium-Doped Calcium Silicate Nanopowder on Cell Proliferation of Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts

“…On the other hand, the undoped art-loaded NPs presented hemolysis in concentrations higher than 60 μg/mL but with lower percentages of lysis in comparison with the unloaded NPs. Artemisinin and artemisinin derivatives loaded nanoparticles have shown reduced or no hemolytic activity, suggesting a potential protective effect on RBCs’ lysis [ 63 , 64 ]. However, the literature is limited in this area and future studies should be focused on the protective role of ART on nanoparticles entering blood circulation.…”

Electrospun Nanofibers of Polycaprolactone/Collagen as a Sustained-Release Drug Delivery System for Artemisinin

“…Malaria is a serious parasitic disease that has been spreading all over the world but mainly in Africa [ 1 ]. Artemisinin (ART), a peroxide-containing sesquiterpene lactone [ 2 , 3 ], is currently the most widely used and most effective anti-malarial drug [ 4 , 5 ]. It shows strong activity against malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum (a unicellular protozoan parasite that is the deadliest species of malaria-causing Plasmodium in humans) and plays a key role in the treatment and continuous control of malaria worldwide [ 6 ].…”

Dual Matrix Influence on Ni(II) Rich Hybrid Catalyst for Electrochemical Methanol Oxidation Reaction

“…For the material, MnO 2 −Ni(OH) 2 ‐MWCNT and MnO 2 −Ni(OH) 2 ‐Y/MWCNT the C 1s bands were obtained at 284.8±0.1 eV, 286.4±0.1 and 289.8±0.2 eV for C−C, C−O−C and O−C=O species respectively originated from MWCNT, Figure S2a and S3a [24,53] . The O 1s bands for the material MnO 2 −Ni(OH) 2 ‐Y the band obtained at 532.9 eV, 531.1 eV and 529.8 eV for Si−O, Al 2 O 3 and M−O species respectively present in the material, Figure S1a [35,54,55] . However, for the materials, MnO 2 −Ni(OH) 2 ‐MWCNT and MnO 2 −Ni(OH) 2 ‐Y/MWCNT the bands were obtained at 531.3±0.2 eV, 531 eV and 529.8±0.1 for C=O, Al 2 O 3 and M−O species, respectively, Figure S2b and S3b [35,55] .…”

“…[24,53] The O 1s bands for the material MnO 2 À Ni(OH) 2 -Y the band obtained at 532.9 eV, 531.1 eV and 529.8 eV for SiÀ O, Al 2 O 3 and MÀ O species respectively present in the material, Figure S1a. [35,54,55] However, for the materials, MnO 2 À Ni(OH) 2 -MWCNT and MnO 2 À Ni(OH) 2 -Y/MWCNT the bands were obtained at 531.3 � 0.2 eV, 531 eV and 529.8 � 0.1 for C=O, Al 2 O 3 and MÀ O species, respectively, Figure S2b and S3b. [35,55] The Al 2p 1/2 band was obtained at 74 � 0.…”