Plug-In Safe-by-Design Nanoinorganic Antibacterials

Abstract

Due to antimicrobial resistance and the adverse health effects that follow broad and inappropriate use of antibacterial agents, new classes of antibacterials with broad and strong bactericidal activity and safety for human use are urgently required globally, increasingly so with the onset of climate change. However, R&D in this field is known to be rarely profitable, unless a cost-effective, flexible, and convenient platform that ensures the production of workable candidate antibacterials can be developed. To address this issue, inorganic nanomaterials have been considered for their bactericidal activities, yet further investigations of composition crystalline modifications and/or surface biomaterial coatings are still required to provide effective and safe antibacterial nanoparticles. In this study, we developed a plug-in system comprising a spark plasma reactor and a flow heater under nitrogen gas flow to supply precursor inorganic nanoparticles (Cu−Te configuration) that can be modulated in-flight at different temperatures. From antibacterial and toxicological assays in both in vitro and in vivo models, bactericidal and toxicological profiles showed that the plug-in system-based platform can be used to identify key parameters for producing safe-by-design agents with antibacterial activity [>88% (in vitro) and >80% (in vivo) in antibacterial efficiency] and safety (>65% in in vitro viability and >60% in in vivo survival rate).

Fabrication of aerosol-based nanoparticles and their applications in biomedical fields

“…Plasma techniques have been adopted to prepare organic or inorganic nanoparticles containing biological materials. In this method, two different conducting electrodes are heated up to 20,000 K and nanoparticles are obtained via vapor displacement through thermophoretic deposition (Gautam et al 2019a , b ). The vapor can be generated by placing a different pair of electrodes with a continuous power supply, following which the vapor is passed through a thermal reactor for vapor deposition.…”

“…Zinc oxide nanosheets (approximately 25 nm) were also prepared using the thermal plasma technique and their fluorescence quenching mechanism was studied using α-amylase (Khade et al 2017 ). Carbon-based nanoparticles have been extensively used in various biomedical fields, such as cancer therapy, drug delivery, theragnostic applications, and biosensors (Gautam et al 2019a , b ; Maiti et al 2019 ). Therefore, the radiofrequency thermal plasma technique can be used to prepare extremely thermally stable (up to 500 K) carbon-coated magnetic nanocomposites, which can have various biomedical applications (Bystrzejewski et al 2007 ).…”

“…Notably, particle diameter, shape, and surface properties directly influence their effects of the nanoparticles on bacterial cells and surface-modified nanoparticles have been shown to have superior antibacterial activity against resistant strains (Dong et al 2019 ). A spark plasma reactor and a flow heater (maintained at room temperature, 400 °C, and 800 °C) were employed to synthesize Cu-doped Te nanocomposites with different shapes (Gautam et al 2019a , b ). Using temperature modulation, Cu–Te nanoparticles with a dendritic, spiky, or cubic shape were obtained and tested against E. coli, extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli, S. epidermidis, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus ( MRSA ).…”

“…Using temperature modulation, Cu–Te nanoparticles with a dendritic, spiky, or cubic shape were obtained and tested against E. coli, extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli, S. epidermidis, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus ( MRSA ). The prepared Cu–Te nanoparticles showed synergistic antibacterial activity due to the release of Cu 2+ and TeO 3 2− or TeO 4 2− ions, when compared to individual Cu and Te nanoparticles (Gautam et al 2019a , b ) (Table 1 ).…”

“…The prepared Cu–Te nanoparticles showed synergistic antibacterial activity due to the release of Cu 2+ and TeO 3 2− or TeO 4 2− ions, when compared to individual Cu and Te nanoparticles (Gautam et al 2019a , b ) (Table 1 ).…”