Synthetic antibacterial minerals: harnessing a natural geochemical reaction to combat antibiotic resistance

Abstract

The overuse of antibiotics in clinical and livestock settings is accelerating the selection of multidrug resistant bacterial pathogens. Antibiotic resistant bacteria result in increased mortality and financial strain on the health care and livestock industry. The development of new antibiotics has stalled, and novel strategies are needed as we enter the age of antibiotic resistance. Certain naturally occurring clays have been shown to have antimicrobial properties and kill antibiotic resistant bacteria. Harnessing the activity of compounds within these clays that harbor antibiotic properties offers new therapeutic opportunities for fighting the potentially devastating effects of the post antibiotic era. However, natural samples are highly heterogenous and exhibit variable antibacterial effectiveness, therefore synthesizing minerals of high purity with reproducible antibacterial activity is needed. Here we describe for the first time synthetic smectite clay minerals and Fe-sulfide microspheres that reproduce the geochemical antibacterial properties observed in natural occurring clays. We show that these mineral formulations are effective at killing the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter sp.) by maintaining Fe2+ solubility and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production while buffering solution pH, unlike the application of metals alone. Our results represent the first step in utilizing a geochemical process to treat antibiotic resistant topical or gastrointestinal infections in the age of antibiotic resistance.

Antimicrobial Potential of "Kavalgine" Clay Based Novel Preparation for Prophylactic Skin Care

“…Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans // Pathogens 9 (4) Спрос на новые антимикробные препараты высок в медицине, ветеринарии, сельском хозяйстве и др. Однако многие классические препараты на основе стероидов, олиго-/макроциклических лактонов и антибиотиков имеют ряд недостатков: негативные для здоровья последствия, потенциальные экологические риски и т.д.…”

“…with some organic plant and animal sourced substances of target effects, such as like propolis, plant essential oils, waxes and also fungi bioactive components, etc. [3,4].…”

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in fecal Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. isolates from beef cow-calf operations in northern California and associations with farm practices

“…A recent scientific report showed that synthetic smectite clay minerals and Fe-sulfide microspheres have antimicrobial properties and kill antibiotic resistant bacteria including E. coli and Enterococcus spp. (Morrison et al, 2022) but we did not inquire about the use of these products.…”

Clinical and Experimental Substantiation of The Use of Macrolide Antibiotic in Gastrointestinal and Respiratory Diseases

“…A decrease in the level of natural resistance and immunobiological reactivity, against which the conditionally pathogenic microflora manifests its effect, makes it difficult to carry out preventive measures for gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases [2,3]. Moreover, most pathologies of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts: gastroenteritis, pneumonia, and with systemic pneumoenteritis, occur with the participation of not one, but several pathogens at the same time [4]. All this implies a significant use of preventive and therapeutic agents, cyclicity, and rotation in their application, the development of new treatment and prevention schemes for various diseases, as well as the creation on their basis of new resistant compounds with a potentiated, synergistic antimicrobial effect, addiction to which will become unlikely, and the therapeutic and preventive effect, is much higher [5,6].…”